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faith · Sunday 2 August 2026 · After 10am Mass 
Blessing of the Graves - Donaghmoyne Parish
At Donaghmoyne, Lisdoonan and Broomfield Cemeteries · Donaghmoyne, Co. Monaghan
At Donaghmoyne, Lisdoonan and Broomfield Cemeteries · Donaghmoyne, Co. Monaghan
Donaghmoyne Parish holds its Blessing of the Graves across three cemeteries on three successive Sundays every August, one of the largest parishes in the Diocese of Clogher and a tradition that draws families back to the townlands where their people are buried. The first ceremony falls on Sunday, 2 August 2026 at Donaghmoyne after the 10am Mass, followed by Lisdoonan the following Sunday and Broomfield on the third Sunday of the month.
A priest leads prayers for the dead at each cemetery immediately after the parish’s Sunday Mass, walking the grounds and blessing the graves individually while families stand by their own plots. It is a quiet, unhurried custom rather than a performance, and it draws people who no longer live locally back to the parish for the day, along with those who still do. Donaghmoyne is a rural parish of roughly 2,700 people, almost entirely Catholic, stretching from the northern edge of Carrickmacross town down to the southern boundary of Castleblayney, and the three-Sunday spread reflects how the parish itself is split across separate rural communities rather than one village centre. The order runs Donaghmoyne on the first Sunday, Lisdoonan on the second, and Broomfield on the third, each after that day’s Mass.
Donaghmoyne is roughly 2.5 miles north-north-east of Carrickmacross, reached by minor rural roads rather than a main route, so a car is the practical way to attend. There is no public transport serving the individual cemeteries directly.
Broomfield is one of three small communities that make up Donaghmoyne parish, with Carrickmacross the nearest town for a meal or a look around afterward. Carrickmacross is known for its lace industry, still shown at the Lace Gallery on Market Square, and for the Courthouse Restaurant, which holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand. There is more to see in Carrickmacross and across Co. Monaghan.
Heading to Donaghmoyne, Lisdoonan and Broomfield Cemeteries in Monaghan? Monaghan has plenty more to see. Read the Monaghan area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.
In town for Donaghmoyne, Lisdoonan and Broomfield Cemeteries? These Dublin tours book out in summer.