Milltown Cemetery, Falls Road, Belfast

Milltown Cemetery in West Belfast has become synonymous with Irish Nationalism and Republicanism but people from all walks of life are buried here.

Milltown Cemetery

546 Falls Road

Belfast

BT12 6EQ

Northern Ireland

Milltown Cemetery lies in the townland of Ballymurphy, Belfast. The large Roman Catholic burial ground is between the Falls Road and the M1 motorway.

Milltown Cemetery opened in 1869 as Belfast’s Catholic population grew. It is sometimes portrayed as a Nationalist or Irish Republican graveyard. Most of the dead, though, are ordinary everyday Catholics from the Belfast area. In total, more than 200,000 people lie at rest in Milltown.

There are three large open areas about the size of a football pitch designated as poor ground. 80,000 people lie here. Many of them died in the great influenza pandemic of 1919.

Commonwealth War Graves in Milltown Cemetery

There are 52 Second World War Commonwealth War Graves Commission graves in Milltown Cemetery. Another 8 graves are those of foreign nationals who died on service in Northern Ireland. The focal point is a Cross of Sacrifice and a Screen Wall Memorial listing service people with unmarked graves. Vandals set fire to this memorial in 2017 causing scorch damage.

Patrick Joseph Brennan

Fireman

Fireman Patrick Joseph Brennan served on board the Merchant Navy steamer SS Ranger during the Second World War. His grave is in Milltown Cemetery, Belfast.

Francis Cassidy

Able Seaman

Able Seaman Francis Cassidy died on 12th May 1946 aged 40 years old. He served in the Merchant Navy onboard the Harland and Wolff built MV Wellington Star.

Robert Christopher Charleton

Aircraftman 1st Class | 628854

Aircraftman 1st Class Robert Christopher Charleton died on 11th May 1940 when anti-aircraft fire pierced the body of his plane over Maastricht, Netherlands.

Owen Corrigan

Guardsman | 2721586

Guardsman Owen Corrigan served in 1st Battalion Irish Guards at his time of death on 30th July 1944. His grave is in Milltown Cemetery in West Belfast.

James Patrick Cosgrove

Leading Aircraftman | 546234

Leading Aircraftman James Patrick Cosgrove of Belfast died on 2nd November 1946 having served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

Bernard Donnelly

Private | 13007682

Private Bernard Donnelly of Belfast, Co. Antrim served in the Pioneer Corps at his time of death on 20th January 1940. His grave is in Milltown Cemetery.

Patrick Duffy

Private | T/178296

Patrick Duffy served in the Royal Army Service Corps. He died at his home on 18th April 1941 following the Belfast Blitz as a result of gas poisoning.

Patrick Fogarty

Greaser

Having seen action in The Great War with the Army, Patrick Fogarty from Sailortown, Belfast joined the Merchant Navy in the Second World War.

Edward Harte

Able Seaman | D/JX 192733

Able Seaman Edward Harte died on 22nd October 1940 while training at H.M.S. President III, a Royal Navy shore base in Bristol, England.

John Hefferlin

Rifleman | 7018196

Rifleman John Hefferlin was one of three men from the Royal Ulster Rifles who died in a road vehicle collision on 16th March 1942 at Dunadry, Co. Antrim.

James Waclaw Hoba

Warrant Officer Class I | R/103006

Canadian airman James Waclaw Hoba was on a training flight with No. 5 Operational Training Unit when he died northwest of Moira, Co. Down on 17th July 1943.

Thomas Keane

Corporal | 13058605

Coproral Thomas Keane served with the Pioneer Corps at No. 24 British General Hospital, Belfast, Co. Down at his time of death in the Blitz of 5th May 1941.

Francis Joseph Kiernan

Stoker 1st Class | D/KX89844

Stoker 1st Class Francis Joseph Kiernan died on 21st January 1946 in Belfast, Co. Antrim. He was injured while serving with the Royal Navy in Singapore.

Thomas John Leen

Rifleman | 7020081

Rifleman Thomas John Leen died on 24th January 1941 aged 19 years old. Although born in Liverpool, England, his place of death was Belfast, Co. Antrim.

Thomas Lunney

Leading Aircraftman | 1063465

Leading Aircraftman Thomas Lunney died on 22nd July 1947 after contracting pulmonary tuberculosis while serving in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.

Arthur Aloysius Macardle

Sergeant | 1136009

Sergeant Arthur Aloysius Macardle from Belfast, Co. Antrim died on 24th May 1944 while on active service with the Royal Air Force in the Second World War.

Samuel Patrick McAlister

Corporal | 632997

Corporal Samuel Patrick McAlister of Belfast died on 9th September 1941 while serving in Cumbria, England with the Royal Air Force.

John McAllister

Driver | T/91029

John McAllister of the Royal Army Service Corps served as John Short. He died on 31st May 1942 and is buried in Milltown Cemetery, Belfast, Co. Antrim.

Daniel Joseph McAnulty

Lance Sergeant | 3241530

Born in Belfast, Lance Sergeant Daniel Joseph McAnulty served with the Royal Ulster Rifles in the U.K. when he died on 26th November 1941.

Terence McCorry

Sergeant | 522577

Sergeant Terence McCorry was an air gunner with RAF 95 Squadron. He served in West Africa in 1941 when he died as a result of action with an enemy plane.

John Coard McCullough

Driver | 13098346

Driver John Coard McCullough lived in Warwickshire, England and served with the Royal Engineers. The Belfast-born soldier died in Wales on 30th April 1945.

Robert McGivern

Private | 5115146

Private Robert McGivern served in 12th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment. He died on 19th September 1943 and his grave is in Belfast.

John McIlwee

Rifleman | 7015235

John McIlwee died on 31st May 1944 while serving with 2nd Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles as the unit prepared for the invasion of Normandy, France.

John Joseph McIntyre

Gunner | 1063465

Gunner John Joseph McIntyre of Belfast died on 30th July 1945 having served in the British Army's Royal Artillery during the years of the Second World War.

Charles McKearnon

Private | 6976146

Private Charles McKearnon of Belfast, Co. Antrim served in the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Sussex) during World War Two. He died after the war in 1947.

Francis McKenna

Private | 7011079

Private Francis McKenna was born in Belfast and served in the Pioneer Corps during the Second World War. He died on 18th September 1942.

Owen McKenna

Greaser

Greaser Owen McKenna was a member of the Naval Auxiliary Personnel in the Second World War. He died on 30th March 1944 while serving on the HMS Ranpura.

Paul McLarnon

Sergeant | 999862

Sergeant Paul McLarnon served in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He died on 3rd September 1942 when Vickers Wellington DV718 came down in Yorkshire.

James Mohan

Donkeyman

Donkeyman James Mohan of Belfast died on 18th September 1940, almost 3 weeks after an attack on the armed cruiser H.M.S. Dunvegan Castle.

John O’Brien

Corporal | 7044339

Irish born Corporal John O'Brien died of natural causes on 27th May 1943 while serving with the Royal Irish Fusiliers and billeted in Lisburn, Co. Antrim.

Thomas Rafferty

Private | 2188353

Pioneer Corps Private Thomas Rafferty lived in Bessbrook, Co. Armagh with his wife Nora. He died on 7th November 1940 having served in both World Wars.

Charles Reilly

Greaser

Greaser Charles Reilly died on 20th February 1941 after SS Housatonic came under Luftwaffe attack. His grave is in Milltown Cemetery, Belfast, Co. Antrim.

William Joseph Robb

Fireman | SS Salveda

William Joseph Robb of Belfast, Co. Antrim was 59 years old when he died on board Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship SS Salveda on 19th December 1943.

Thomas Whinnery

Fusilier | 7008439

Fusilier Thomas Whinnery of Belfast died on 22nd July 1947 while serving with the Royal Welch Fusiliers. His grave is in Milltown Cemetery in West Belfast.

Milltown also includes a mass grave of victims of the Belfast Blitz. Many of those killed remained unidentified after the 1941 attacks. A similar mass grave exists in the nearby Belfast City Cemetery. An inscription on the Milltown mass grave reads:

Sacred to the memory of unidentified victims of enemy action. Belfast. April 1941. RIP.

Polish Independence Day at Milltown Cemetery

WartimeNI Photo: The Polish flag flies above the graves of members of the Polish Air Force buried in Milltown Cemetery, Belfast. Photo taken on 11th November 2017. Copyright Scott Edgar.

Polish Airmen in Milltown

These men from the Polish Air Force are laid to rest in Milltown Cemetery, Belfast.

Edward Lewandowski

Edward Lewandowski

Sergeant | P-783109

Sergeant Edward Lewandowski served in the Polish Air Force. He was a member of 6 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit operating from Sydenham Airfield, Belfast.

Flight Sergeant Jozef Antoni Pudelko

Jozef Antoni Pudelko

Flight Sergeant | P/781015

Polish Flight Sergeant Jozef Antoni Pudelko served in RAF 309 (Polish) Squadron. He died on 23rd April 1942 when his Westland Lysander crashed in Belfast.

Other graves in Milltown Cemetery

Thomas Murphy

Private

Thomas Murphy served in the 1st Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles during World War Two. After the war, he returned to life in his native Belfast, Co. Antrim.

References
  1. Atlas Obscura
  2. BBC Northern Ireland
  3. Irish News
  4. Wikipedia

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