Europe

Cimetière des Rois or Cimetière de Plainpalais Geneva Switzerland

True till the end in Geneva

I’ve often wondered where the bitches and the bastards are buried. Those nasty people who beat their spouses, molest their kids, kill their mates. In all the cemeteries I’ve been [...]
Read more
British War Cemetery Solymár Hungary

The RAF graveyard school of life

A dead man here. Another one there. This one in his 60s. The other in his 80s. Beloved father, husband, son. An inevitability. Yet to see the markers of 211 [...]
Read more
Ta'Braxia Cemetery Malta

Affirming life in a cemetery in Malta

Some people celebrate their birthdays in style. Some ignore them completely. Others still, like my mate GB in Malta, visits a cemetery. He’s not fussy about which one; as long [...]
Read more
Cimitero Monumentale di Milano Italy

Prostrate with grief in Milan

In Milan a while back, I was a little taken aback to see a woman, lying prostrate on a grave, her grief palpable, her sorrow tangible. Coming from a country [...]
Read more
Famine graveyard Mullingar Co. Westmeath Ireland

Dying of famine

Those of you who grew up in Ireland might remember the nuns telling you to eat all your lunch because there were millions of black babies in Africa who were [...]
Read more

A day of remembrance in Budapest

All Saints’ Day is one of my favourite days on the Budapest calendar. To see policemen on traffic duty inside the grounds of the city’s major cemeteries makes me smile. [...]
Read more

Educational epitaphs

I thought I was a little odd visiting Bródy Sándor’s grave each November and leaving flowers, but I have nothing on this 40-something French girl who comes to Ireland five [...]
Read more

Touching coffins in Dublin

There are more people buried in Glasnevin cemetery in Dublin that are currently alive in the city. I heard that on Saturday and it still hasn’t sunk in: 1.5 million [...]
Read more

The grass on the Oslo side

One of the first things that struck me about Oslo was the amount of green in the city. There are parks everywhere. And those parks are full of people. Reading, [...]
Read more
National Cemetery Terezín Czech Republic

A matter of perception

I wasn’t born a Catholic, but I may as well have been. I was baptised into the faith of my father (and mother) and have grown up with the institution [...]
Read more
@ 2024 Mary Murphy