Roselawn Cemetery

Roselawn Cemetery
Details
Established	1954
Location	Crossnacreevy, Belfast
Country	Northern Ireland, UK
Type	Public
Owned by	Belfast City Council
No. of interments	>50,000
Website	Official website
Find a Grave	Roselawn Cemetery

Roselawn Cemetery (Irish: Reilig Phlásóg na Rós) (also known as Roselawn) is a large cemetery and crematorium on the outskirts of Belfast in Northern Ireland. It opened in 1954. It is owned and operated by Belfast City Council. It is located on the Ballygowan Road.

History

Roselawn Cemetery was laid out in 1952 as a ‘lawn’ cemetery and the ground was formally consecrated in 1954. Roses (traditional flowering shrubs, used extensively in cemeteries) were planted along the main driveway, giving the site its name. In 1961, the City of Belfast Crematorium, the first of its kind in Ireland, opened its doors, with the first cremation taking place in July 1961. Land has been added over the years, and the site has been landscaped with lakes to make it more appealing to visitors. The surface area has been estimated at a little less than 300 acres, which would make it the largest municipal cemetery in the United Kingdom.

The cemetery contains the remains of an ancient ráth or ringfort, which is believed to be from the Iron Age or early Christian period.

Notable interments

It has been estimated that there are between 43.000 and 44.000 memorial plaques. The site contains graves connected to the Troubles, including those of police and prison officers, soldiers and victims of the Abercorn Restaurant, Oxford Street and La Mon House Hotel bombings.

• Ian Adamson, Northern Ireland politician
• George Best, Northern Ireland professional football player
• May Blood, Baroness Blood, British politician
• David Ervine, Northern Ireland Unionist politician and leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP).
• Tommy Herron. Northern Ireland loyalist
• B. J. Hogg, actor
• James Kilfedder, Northern Ireland unionist politician
• Helen Lewis, Czechoslovakian-born Northern Ireland choreographer and Holocaust survivor

Cremations

• Basil Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough, soldier and Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician, third Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. The ashes were scattered on his estate.
• Bobby Storey, Irish IRA volunteer

External links

• Roselawn Cemetery at Find a Grave
• Booklet by Belfast City Council about the cemeteries in and around Belfast