Stories from Old Newspapers

 

Dungarvan Observer 15 March 1930

Funeral of Sir Richard J Musgrave Bart., Tourin House, Cappoquin

Striking evidence of the widespread regret and sympathy aroused by the death of Sir R J Musgrave…was afforded on Friday 7th inst, when the funeral of the deceased took place to the family burial ground in Affane Churchyard and provided one of the most remarkable and eloquent displays of public sympathy and respect seen in Cappoquin district for years.

The funeral was timed to leave his residence…at 2o’clock, but long before that hour a long procession of motor cars and other vehicles had begun to arrive in the precincts of the stately mansion, bringing mourners and friends from practically all parts of Munster...he was one of the most kindly and unassuming gentlemen who had ever lived. The casket…had been lying in state in the spacious hall of the mansion and was covered with a magnificent collection of the most costly wreaths…special praise must be given to Mr McConnell, house steward; Mr Matthews, estate steward; Mr P Walsh undertaker; Mr George O'Brien, Lismore; Mr George Russell, Cappoquin; the Venerable Archdeacon Burkitt, Rector of Cappoquin, rendered valuable assistance.

A touching feature of funeral was the presence of all the children from Tourin Schoolhouse, of which Sir Richard was the owner, and who, in charge of their teachers, Mrs W Sweeney and Miss Landers, were lined up in front of the hall door…and who later headed the sad cortege…The remains were enclosed in a beautiful silver-mounted coffin of polished chestnut made from timber grown on the Tourin estate.

All the leading members of the West Waterford Hunt, of which Miss Dorothy Musgrave is the respected Master, were present…while members of the United Hunt, Lismore Race Committee and other sporting bodies in the south were also strongly represented. The elite of society in Munster was also fully represented, while rich and poor in various stations in life helped make the funeral one of the most imposing and representative seen passing through Cappoquin since the great funeral of the late Mr R H Keane.

At the cemetery…the coffin was then lowered into a beautiful moss-covered grave made by his own workmen, close by the grave of his father who died in 1874, his mother, who died in 1895, and his two sisters, the Misses Fanny and Florence, who were drowned on October 19 1918 [On RMS Leinster]. The chief mourners were: Lady Musgrave (widow); Mrs T. O. Jameson and Miss Dorothy Jameson (daughters); Capt T O Jameson (son-in-law); Sir Christopher Musgrave (heir to the title); Mrs Reginald Chaplin and Mrs Burroughs (sisters-in-law); Capt Charles Trench, M.C. (nephew); Col Chaplin, Mr Burroughs and Sir Hercules Langrishe (relatives).


Sir Richard Musgrave  1911