Cemetery Prayers at Rathmore Abbey - Athboy Parish

What to Expect

Athboy Parish holds its annual Cemetery Prayers at Rathmore Abbey on Saturday 8 August 2026 at 7.30pm. The gathering follows the long-standing Irish parish custom of graveside devotions, when parishioners come together at the burial ground itself to pray for deceased relatives, neighbours and friends rather than gathering indoors for a standard Mass. Rathmore Abbey is one of several historic burial sites within Athboy Parish that hosts its own dedicated prayer evening each summer, alongside similar devotions held at the parish’s other cemeteries through July and August, each announced in turn through the weekly parish newsletter. The evening is led by the parish clergy and typically includes prayers for the dead, a blessing of the graves, and time for quiet reflection among the headstones. These devotions are a fixture of the Irish Catholic calendar in rural parishes, giving families who may have moved away from the area, or who have relatives buried in more than one graveyard, a set date each year to visit and tend the graves.

Good to Know

• Date: Saturday 8 August 2026 at 7.30pm.

• Venue: Rathmore Abbey graveyard, near Athboy, Co. Meath.

• Free to attend and open to all, whether or not you have family buried at Rathmore.

• Part of a wider annual cycle of cemetery devotions across Athboy Parish’s graveyards each summer; check the parish newsletter at athboyparish.ie for the full list of dates and venues.

• Bring a chair or blanket, as devotions take place outdoors at the graveside and can run for around 30 to 40 minutes.

• The parish office can be contacted for further details on the evening’s format.

Getting There

Rathmore Abbey is a rural graveyard outside Athboy town in south-west Meath; the parish newsletter and website carry directions for those unfamiliar with the area. There is no formal car park, so on-street or verge parking is used, and visitors are asked to park considerately given the narrow rural roads leading in.