The McKennas at Teampall Cheallaigh

Teampall Cheallaigh and Mullagh Lake

Teampall Cheallaigh is where you'll find the oldest resting place of the Mullagh McKennas,  by the shores of Mullagh Lake, and more recently the final resting place of TP & May McKenna.

It takes its name from the small church that existed there, the 'church of chilleach', the ruin of which still stands.

Burials have taken place at this site since the time of the 14th Century and the oldest extant tombstone is believed to be that of Philip O'Reilly who died in 1683.

There is also a mass grave for the 320 victims of the parish who died in the famine of 1854-59.

The landmark church on the site (below) dates from the early 19th Century and is the Church of Ireland parish church for Mullagh's Anglican community.

The early 19th Century Church of Ireland 

The McKenna Plot

From 1795 the first three generations of this branch of the clan (which emerged out of Monaghan, incidentally)  are buried here starting with Nicholas McKenna in whose memory the existing headstone was erected by his sons.

The McKenna Headstone

For the most part the old headstone has stood the test of time very well.  Though it has tilted slightly, it's still firmly founded and relatively free from erosion. It has not faired so well against the crustacean of lichen which has obscured much of the detail in the intervening centuries

It is fortunate then that a previous parish priest of Mullagh, Fr.Traynor, set down a brief record of the stone in 1970 which we present here:-

'The McCanna or McKenna memorial in Temple Kelly Cemetery, Mullagh'

The inscription reads:

This stone was erected ...

By Laurence McCanna, Peter Mc

Canna, Patrick

McCanna & James Mc

Canna in memory

of their father

Nicholas McCanna

who departed this 

life July the 22nd

1795 aged 69 years

May his soul rest in 

Peace. Amen.

The above memorial stands in the South Eastern section of the ancient cemetery attached to Temple Kelly.

The carving and the lettering on this erect headstone are very fine. At the top of the stone is a scroll bearing the words 'Gloria in excelsis Deo'.

Underneath is a figure of the crucified Christ with carved angels to the right and left of the sacred head.  In the space below the extended right arm a soldier is depicted with lance, ladder and the instruments of the passion.  In the space below the extended left arm is a carving of the well known 'cock and pot' legend which on monuments is universally adopted as a symbol of the last Resurrection. The apocryphal legend states that Judas declared that the Resurrection was as unlikely as that a bird being cooked would come to life, where upon the bird flew out of the pot and clapped his wings and crowed thrice.  A very fine representation of the 'cock and pot' legend is to be seen on the Plunkett altar tomb, dated 1531, at Rathmore, Co.Meath, 3 miles north-east of Athboy on the road to Navan.  The Rathmore carving may have inspired the similar one in Mullagh.  (Fr. O Traynor p.p.)"


[There are two small points of detail to note here.  One, that the gaelic spelling for the cemetery is something that has only been reverted to in more recent times.  The other is the transition of the family name from 'McCanna' to 'McKenna'. Quite when that occurred has yet to be established.]

The McKenna plot

The last burials of previous McKenna generations would have been the children of Nicholas & Mary (nee.Conaty) McKenna in the latter half of the 19th Century.  By 1904 though, the story moves approximately three miles East to the neighbouring village of Moynalty.

The McKenna plot at Moynalty

It was there that the first T.P. McKenna established a new, larger family plot.  This was following the tragic death of his wife Sarah (nee. Clinton) aged just 37 who had succumbed to TB not long after the birth of her tenth child and it continues now as the main plot of the Mullagh McKennas.

So why, it could be asked, do T.P. & May McKenna come to rest by the old McKenna plot at Teampall Chellaigh?

Their son, Stephen takes up the story:

"Our father, TP, was very taken with the longevity of the family history and one blistering, hot summer day when he visited Mullagh, with all of us in tow,  he had his father take us up to find the old headstone. 

This was not a straightforward task by any means. Kelly's graveyard was long since closed to new burials and years of unchallenged weeds and nettles had successfully staked their claim.

It really was as if we were on a trek into the jungle and I had to take to my father's shoulders as I was in my summer shorts.  Also, the ground became distinctly precipitous at the lower end of the cemetery.

Finally, and who knows how, the stone was eventually located and efforts were made to clear away all the long grass but, even so,  not much could be deciphered and the surrounding foliage at its summer high, casting a shade over everything, was no help.  My grandfather recoursed to striking matches to bring some light to bear.  I recall that he was able to read out a certain amount of the inscription.

Whether it was in that moment or mulling over visit subsequently my father resolved that here was where he wished to be buried and I can remember him saying as much to his mother on another visit home, not long before her own passing.

'I'm going to be buried at Kelly's graveyard!!', he declared, proudly.

'WHAT??  Are ya mad?', she scolded him in reply. 'You CAN'T'. She continued, 'it's shut!'

Her son roared with laughter at this.  'Well, I'll just have them open it again', said my father calmly, bringing the discussion to a close, and indeed some time in the 90s, true to his word, he made application to the local Board of Works, who administered such matters, to request leave for him and May to be buried at Teampall Cheallaigh in the old McKenna plot.

Snowdrops arrive as early as February

Now, there was more to this process than a clerical dotting of 'i's and crossing for 't's.  For permission to be granted a survey of the plot had to be undertaken by the works engineers.  This would be to ensure that the ground was safe and still had adequate drainage and such to accommodate a new arrival. Then he also had to seek the blessing of his cousins and ensure that they held no objections to his request.

Finally, he received communication from Cavan County Council confirming that permission was granted for the internment of himself and May at Temple Cheallaigh at such time as that eventuality might arise.

Kindly, the signing official expressed his wish that there would be many years to come before they'd have cause to avail of it.

Well, that time did indeed come (first with the passing of May in 2007) and the wisdom of Daddy's foresight in making these complex plans came to make sense.

TP's funeral as reported in the Irish Times in February 2011

Although, he travelled far away from Mullagh in his lifetime, he never forgot where he had come from,  nor the peaceful and charming surrounds of Mullagh Lake which had been the backdrop to his childhood and formative years.

Mullagh Lake & Teampall Cheallaigh away in the distance

To stand at the grave of my parents today is to be in a remarkable place.  Somewhere in the distance there's the faint sound of a tractor working a field,  the discrete lowing of cattle at pasture nearby and perhaps the eerie sound of a swan's wings beating the waters of the lake as it takes flight.

TP & May's grave

From 1795 to 2011 these two headstones now stand side by side,
almost like bookends in the McKenna history.

It's a location which is at once set back from the temporal world and yet not so much so that it is unvisited.  

In fact, with the boom in recreation that is evident on any visit to Mullagh these days, many a walker and runner stops by at Teampall Chellaigh and families of those interred here gather annually for the blessing of the graves.

So, should you ever find yourself in that hybrid corner of Cavan, that's almost as much Meath (the border's only a mile or two away), then stop a while and say hello to the McKennas. 

You'll be glad you did."

TP & His Ancestors

Nicholas McKenna was married to Rose McMahon,

His son James was married to Anne Lee,

His son Nicholas was married to Mary Conaty,

His son Thomas Patrick was married to Sarah Clinton,

His son Raphael Patrick was married to Mary C.O'Reilly,

His son Thomas Patrick was married to May White

Mullagh Lake and beyond