Mausolea Hibernica. by Maurice and Michael Craig. Lilliput. 128pp. £15.95.
The Mausolea Hibernica is the product of a unique father-and-son collaboration whereby Maurice Craig, Ireland's most distinguished architectural historian, and Michael Craig, a fine craftsman and artist, have come together to write about and illustrate some of the best mausolea in the country. Maurice Craig's many publications include important books such as Dublin 1660-1860, Classic Irish Houses of the Middle Size and The Architecture of Ireland from the Earliest Times to 1880. He has also written definitive works about Irish book bindings and the life of the volunteer Earl, Lord Charlemont.
This new book is beautifully illustrated by Michael Craig, whose art includes very precise architectural drawings and refined studies of natural subjects such as fish, but he will be well known for his series based on landmarks in Trinity College. The quality of the drawings in Mausolea Hibernica can only be described as extraordinary as Craig manages to compress a world of detail into his neat rectangular images which are just three inches high. The small scale of these pen and ink images, which have all the refinement of a 19th century steel engraving, is undoubtedly part of their appeal. The fine grain of his technique is perfectly suited to his subject, and my favourite examples here include the obelisk at Stillorgan and the mausoleum at Woodlawn. This is work far removed from the many sloppy drawings which have illustrated so many Irish topographical books in recent years.
What is a mausoleum? Craig's own definition is "a funerary structure having the character of a roofed building, and large enough to stand up in, or at least having that appearance". I would add that they are usually stone built and tend to be ponderous and solid in design. The classical or Egyptian styles were favourites. Anyone who enjoys the solitude and sense of decay which is to be found in an old Irish graveyard will sooner or later discover an overgrown mausoleum. The Craigs describe their own pleasure in visiting these graveyards, especially those where there is an element of "pleasing decay" - where nature has softened man's creation. Natural decay is one thing, but the amount of vandalism done within recent years to the various mausolea and their coffins is a sad note which runs throughout Craig's text. Equally there is a gentle warning against the over-zealous tidying up and "improving" of graveyards. Concern has recently been expressed over the re-pointing of the mausoleum at Kinnity, Co Offaly, a granite pyramid which is mentioned in the text. As an aside, the maintenance of this delicate balance between nature and our ancient monuments is the subject of an excellent booklet which is available from Duchas, The Heritage Service
This new book, Mausolea Hibernica, is an elegant record of some of the finest examples which can be seen in the four provinces of Ireland. Indeed, the grouping of the 33 plates (and some 15 very pretty vignettes) by province, and the layout of the book, with its wide margins and bold print, have a somewhat 18th century simplicity about it. Its simple, uncluttered presentation (including the muted grey dust-jacket) serves the subject well - as this is a straightforward sort of publication - "a picture book", as the authors modestly state. It is much more than this, as it deals with a subject of Irish architectural history which has not been fully explored before. While the emphasis of the text lies in the architectural description of these often bizarre monuments, I would at times have liked to have learned more about the families who built them.
The introduction discusses the origin of the mausoleum and clarifies the main motive for having such a grand tomb as being a desire "to set yourself apart from the rest of humanity". Most of the monuments discussed belonged to families of great wealth or position.
There was also perhaps the hope that by remaining above ground and by not actually being buried under earth, one would be in a better state of readiness for the resurrection! It was common to embalm a body and place it in a double, lead-lined coffin. There was more than a hint of vanity in the whole performance, and how it contrasts with the Quaker headstones which have always been utterly plain and identical. A number of outstanding 18th century mausolea, belonging to such families as the Dawsons of Dartrey in Co Monaghan or the Barrys of Castlelyons in Co Cork, are illustrated, but there are many fine examples from the 19th century too. The mausoleum seemed to appeal to the Victorian entrepreneur as well and the cemeteries at Mount Jerome and Glasnevin in Dublin are also full of such monuments. Everybody has their favourite, and one mausoleum which I was sorry not to see illustrated was Dunboden Park where there is a small Gothic chamber surrounded by a double ditch and now almost completely lost in trees.
As regards the plates which are the main focus of the book, I was always drawn to those where some element of decay, or some trailing ivy could be seen, such as that at Tulsk in Co Roscommon or the pinnacled example at Carbury in Co Kildare. Michael Craig manages to capture the smallest speck of moss on a stone or the fronds of a fern in many of these abandoned mausolea. A nice contemporary detail is provided in the background of the Knockbreda plate (Belfast) and that of St Margaret's (Dublin airport), where tiny helicopters and aircraft can be discerned. Two of the most evocative and mysterious are depicted by night, which creates a striking contrast for the monuments.
Of the vignettes, which are reminiscent of those in an 18th century publication known as Wright's Louthiana, and are scattered through out the book, I particularly liked the beehive mausoleum of Adolphus Cooke. This is the kind of subject where the publishers, Lilliput, excel in the art of traditional book-making - in the classic sense - and with the collaboration of Maurice Craig's flowing pen and Michael Craig's remarkable drawings, it is sure to be a success. Mausolea Hibernica will entice the reader to venture out into the Irish graveyard and seek out these monuments amid "the moon grey nettles, the black mould and muttering rain" (Joyce).
Peter Pearson is bagsh ahasihfhfg