Historian Stephen Callaghan will lead a tour of Bully's Acre burial ground on Gallows Hill in Birr Town, hosted by Offaly County Council with Birr Historical Society.
Bully’s Acre or ‘new churchyard’ as it was first known, was the solution to the overcrowding of the old site of St Brendan’s graveyard in Birr. This burial ground opened around the same time that Birr Barracks was completed, circa 1812, with the intention that soldiers would also be buried here.
The cemetery eventually went into a state of neglect and by the 1850s it was noted as a haunt for ‘undesirables’ of the town. When cholera came to Birr, the dead were buried here in mass graves or 'Cholera pits', a stark contrast to some of the earlier luxury tombs to prominent members of the town such as the Dooleys or Hacketts.
Burials began to gradually cease with the opening of a dedicated military cemetery in 1853 and the opening of Clonoghill Cemetery in 1869. Bully's Acre closed for new burials in the 1870s.
Overtime the burial ground became forgotten by although it is an important part of Birr’s social, economic and military history.
This is an old burial ground in the heart of Birr - it is very rough and uneven. Please wear suitable outdoor footwear and be prepared for the terrain. There is no immediate parking but park in Birr town and allow time to walk up (5 minutes from County Arms/ Tesco).

Address
Entrance Gates to Bully's Acre, Co. Offaly