Maudlings Cemetery – Naas's twin pyramids

Overview

Two stone pyramids are the reason to come here. They sit at the western edge of Maudlings Cemetery, on the Dublin Road just outside Naas, County Kildare, and they are the only pair of pyramid-shaped mausoleums in Ireland. The graveyard around them began as an Anglican burial ground given to the parish in 1780 by John Bourke, 1st Earl of Mayo. It is free, open during daylight hours and a five-minute walk from the town centre.

History

The name Maudlings comes from the medieval devotion to Mary Magdalene, often attached to places of mourning. Records from the dissolution of the monasteries (around 1540) show the surrounding land belonged to Great Connell Priory; by 1606 it was held by the chantry priests of St David’s Church, Naas.

Bourke donated the parcel in 1780. The granite ashlar entrance arch still stands and carries a 1782 inscription marking the enclosure of the cemetery. The site appears on Lieutenant Alexander Taylor’s 1783 map of Kildare. Taylor himself was buried here in 1825. The cemetery was expanded in 1889 and a caretaker appointed in 1902. Grave-robbing was a real problem in the 19th century: the Journal of the Co. Kildare Archaeological Society recorded the theft of the body of Moorehead, a former governor of Naas Gaol, in 1895.

The pyramids

The two Egyptian-inspired mausoleums went up around 1840, a fashionable nod to the Egyptian Revival then sweeping Britain and Ireland. The western pyramid was built in memory of Anne de Burgh, wife of the politician Walter Hussey Burgh. The eastern pyramid carries no inscription; the likeliest theory is another member of the De Burgh family, but the patron is unknown.

Both fell into disrepair as vegetation worked into the shallow stone veneer. In 2020 the Follies Trust secured €65,000 to restore them. Working with conservation architects Blackwood Associates, the project stripped invasive ivy, repointed the joints with hot lime and reset stone displaced by roots. Kildare County Council, the Representative Church Body and local church groups oversaw the work.

Notable burials

• Earls of Mayo, including Robert Bourke, 5th Earl of Mayo.
• De Burghs of Oldtown, among them General Eric de Burgh and the extended De Burgh line.
• Earls of Clonmel – the de Robeck family and connected aristocracy.
• Alexander Taylor (1746–1828), the cartographer whose map first recorded the cemetery.
• Various clergy and military officers, from Rev. Walter de Burgh to the gaol governor Moorehead.

A 1989 survey by the Naas Local History Group recorded over a hundred individual inscriptions, a useful genealogical resource.

What to see

• The pyramids – Take the gravel path to the western edge. The western pyramid has a carved stone interior, the eastern a plainer brick-lined one. Interpretive panels installed after the 2020 restoration explain the Egyptian Revival context and the families commemorated.
• The older headstones – Many are granite ashlar with Georgian lettering. Look for the De Burgh family plot, enclosed by railings, and its 1840s mausoleum for Elizabeth (Jane) Hussey Burgh.
• Photography – The pyramids against the open Kildare ground make for an odd, striking shot, best in the low light of early morning or late afternoon.

Practical information

Access – The entrance arch is on the Dublin Road, opposite St David’s Church, reachable on foot, by bike or by car. Parking is limited to on-street spaces on the Dublin Road; there is no dedicated car park.

Opening and admission – Open year-round during daylight hours, no charge.

Accessibility – The central paved walk is level and suitable for wheelchairs. The peripheral grass areas are uneven and the older, unrestored plots can be muddy and rough after rain, so wear sturdy shoes if you want to reach them.

Facilities – None on site. The nearest café and toilets are in Naas town centre, a five-minute walk away.

Nearby

• Grand Canal, Naas Branch – About 1.5 km west, with a paved towpath for walking or cycling into town.
• Naas historic town walk – Takes in St David’s Castle and the 19th-century Town Hall, a short walk from the cemetery.
• Punchestown Racecourse – 5 km south, one of Ireland’s main National Hunt venues.