Dundonald Cemetery
Dundonald Cemetery is a large cemetery in Dundonald, Northern Ireland. It opened in 1905 as a municipal burial ground. It is a closed cemetery, except for spaces in existing plots. It is located beside Ardcarn, on the Upper Newtownards Road, East Belfast. The site was originally known as Donall’s Fortress, named after a nearby fort.
History
In 1895, it was decided by Belfast City Council that more grave space was needed to cope with Belfast's rising population. Dundonald, already had a local cemetery, St. Elizabeth's Church Graveyard, a small cemetery. In 1897, the council bought 45 acres of land at Ballymiscaw, Dundonald for the price of £5,600. On 19 September 1905, the first burial took place. The cemetery was divided was a quarter allocated as Roman Catholic, which was later emended.In 2020, History Hub Ulster historian Peter McCabe wrote a book about the cemetery, titled A Guide to Dundonald Cemetery. It focuses on simple listings on the interesting lives of a range of people buried in the cemetery, and easy-to-follow trails.
Notable interments
The site contains graves connected to WWI and WWII and the Titanic.- William Bradshaw Bell - OBE, JP, Ulster Unionist Party, Lord Mayor of Belfast, Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly - Lagan Valley
- Anne Crone, Irish novelist and teacher
- Johnny Darling, Irish footballer
- Sir Thomas Dixon, High Sheriff for Co. Antrim in 1912 and Co. Down in 1913., Lord-Lieutenant of the County Borough of Belfast
- Lady Edith Stewart Dixon, wife of Sir Thomas Dixon, Dame of the British Empire for her work with soldiers during World War I
- Brian Desmond Hurst, Irish film director
- James Norritt, businessman, High Sheriff, Lord Mayor and Senate of Northern Ireland
- Robert James Patterson, Irish Presbyterian minister, social reformer, and the founder of the worldwide Catch-My-Pal Total Abstinence Union
- William John Stewart - MP for south Belfast
- Daniel Martin Wilson KC, Irish politician and judge