Milltown Cemetery

Milltown Cemetery lies in west Belfast between the Falls Road and the M1 motorway. Opened in 1869 to serve the growing Catholic population, it became the resting place for around 200,000 people. Over 80,000 rest in the ‘poor grounds’, many from the 1919 flu pandemic. Since 2007 the 55-acre site has been restored after years of neglect. The cemetery is strongly linked with Irish republicanism. Bobby Sands and three fellow hunger strikers lie here, alongside 77 IRA volunteers in the New Republican Plot. The 1988 Milltown Cemetery attack took place during the funerals of Dan McCann, Seán Savage and Mairéad Farrell. Loyalist Michael Stone killed three mourners in the assault. Visitors find the Harbinson Plot with its Celtic cross, the County Antrim Memorial Plot and the INLA Plot. Priest’s Row holds over two dozen senior clerics, many with Celtic crosses. A Cross of Sacrifice marks 102 First World War graves, and a Belfast Blitz memorial honours 30 unknown Catholics.