Calls for Restoration of Belfast's Historic Friar's Bush Cemetery Amplified

Calls for Restoration

A call has been made for Belfast Council to restore one of Belfast’s most historic sites at Friar’s Bush Cemetery, after groups expressed “frustration” at neglect to the site and an inability to give guided tours on Saturdays. At the May meeting of the council’s important Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, a number of councillors made an appeal for the council to move forward with work required at Belfast's oldest Christian burial site, off the Stranmillis Road...

Historic Significance

Legend has it that St Patrick built a church and blessed a well on the site of Friar's Bush Graveyard, while an order of friars is also said to have been established there. Two important stones found within the cemetery grounds appear to support this theory. The name Friar’s Bush comes from an old hawthorn tree in the centre of the cemetery...