Old Cemetery Municipal Heritage Site

The Old Cemetery has been designated a municipal heritage site by the Town of Port Kirwan because of its historic, cultural and aesthetic values.

The Old Cemetery has historical value as one of the older grave sites in the Southern Shore region. Archaeology surveys suggest it contains some of the oldest headstones in the province. While many of the gravestones in the Cemetery date from the early to late 1800s, the oldest stone dates to 1747, around the time when the greater region saw a shift from a seasonal fishery to large scale permanent settlement, particularly by Irish immigrants. The nineteenth century gravestones serve as witness to Irish settlement in the community and are a partial genealogical record of the founding families of Port Kirwan. These include the Aylward, Brothers, O’Connell, O’Neill and Trainor families. Most of the surnames betray their Irish origins, a lasting testament to the influence of Irish settlement on what had been known as the English Shore.

The Old Roman Catholic Cemetery has cultural value as a physical reminder of the ethnic composition of the community and the greater region. From as early as the sixteenth century the Southern Shore was frequented by migratory fishermen from the Iberian Peninsula, France and England. Port Kirwan was originally named Admiral’s Cove as it was a choice land berth for fishing admirals during the summer fishing season. Although some English settlers had previously moved to Admiral’s Cove, permanent settlement occurred mainly during the eighteenth century when Irish fishing servants began to overwinter. This cultural background is a source of pride for residents of communities along the Southern Shore, even though little physical evidence of their forefathers remain intact. The cemetery serves as a tangible witness to eighteenth century Irish immigration and its lasting effects on expressive cultural forms in the region.

The Old Roman Catholic Cemetery has aesthetic value due to its unique environmental setting and impressive collection of headstones. Located atop a small hill in the centre of Port Kirwan, the cemetery is visible from most vantage points in the community. Those headstones that remain vertical are easily seen as well. The material used in these stones varies, with many carved from slate or limestone. While some of these headstones would have been locally produced, such as the slate marking the grave of John Commons with its naive, yet elegant lettering; others were possibly imported from Ireland. These stones are quite huge and have impressively withstood the passage of time.