Buried Twice Died Once Marjorie McCall 1705 Shankill Graveyard Lurgan

Today I'm in Shankill old graveyard in Lurgan Co Armagh. It is a fascinating and ancient burial ground probably dating from neolithic times. Way back in time there is evidence to suggest that the mound was an iron age ring fort before being associated with both old graveyards and old churches. The site was ideal for a simple religious foundation so characteristic of the first Christian millennium. Water, food, shelter and an ambience of peace were all near at hand. It is likely that a small church which was erected on the mound in the centre of the fort served as a parish church for the small community of the district.
It is believed that in the 1620s, Shankill Church as it was known, was repaired and used for both Anglican and Catholic worship. This joint worship was unusual but it came about because of the dual religious make-up of the Brownlow household. William Brownlow had married Eleanor O'Doherty, a scion of a high-ranking Irish family.
In 1718, Shankill Vestry decided that a new Church of Ireland was needed. The elevated site at Lurgan Green, adjacent to the market-house, was selected, The old church was subsequently taken down, and the Brownlows erected their burial vault on the site. Previously, burials in the nave of the church were most likely reserved for the Brownlows and a few leading families.
During the early life was perilous and short. Hundreds were buried within during the two crises years of 1708 and 1713; of the hundreds who died in the 1740s during almost a decade of Arctic cold, droughts, heavy rains and poor harvests; and of the 229 people who were brought to Shankill for burial from the workhouse, in 1847, a year when the total number of local burials amounted to 492. As the Reverend W. Oulton, Curate of Shankill recorded in that year: -

"1847: There were 492 burials in Shankill Graveyard, this year, of which 229 were from the workhouse. The total arising partly from the great mortality occasioned by dysentery and fever in this, as well as in neighbouring parishes, but chiefly arising from the burial here of persons from all parts of Lurgan Union who died in the work house."
During the period 1846 to 1849 the famine claimed 2,933 lives in the Lurgan Union alone. The Lurgan workhouse was situated in the grounds of what is now Lurgan Hospital and a commemorative mural can be seen along the adjacent Tandragee Road

The oldest headstone in the graveyard, located eight paces south-west of the Brownlow vault, commemorates the life of John Walker. The inscription reads:
'Meme .. On John Walker Who Dyed 1696. Here Lyes An Honest Gardners Dust Who In His Calling Was Soe Just That His Great Lord Did Him Remove From Serving Here To Serve Above'.

The reinforced grave of Marjorie McCall is perhaps the most famous grave in Lurgan Shankill graveyard. Margaret was the woman who died once but was buried twice. Some time in the late 1600s or early 1700 she caught fever and went into a deep coma. At the time she was thought to be dead. Her family held a wake and promptly buried her. Her fingers had swollen due to the fever so her expensive wedding ring was not removed. Soon after she was laid to rest, grave robbers, who regularly ransacked newly buried coffins, dug her up and attempted to steal the valuable ring she was still wearing. Unable to remove the ring from her finger, the robbers decided to cut the finger off. As they began their gruesome task, the lady awoke from her slumbers. This obviously frightened the wits out of the robbers and they beat a hasty retreat. Marjorie apparently dusted herself down and set off for home. When she got there her husband nearly died of shock. On hearing a knock at the door, Mr McCall said to his children: "If I hadn't buried your mother, I would swear that was her knock." When he opened the door and saw that it was his wife he fainted and his hair turned white overnight. Margorie none the worse for her ordeal, lived on and even had another child, before being buried once more in what proved to be her final resting place.
Over the decades this fascinating story has been told at many a fireside on many a dark night to wide eyed children and adults. Many different variations of it can be heard even to this day all around the world. Majorie McCall may be long gone but she is certainly not forgotten.

Shankill contains a great variety of impressive memorials. Those of the linen merchants and business families stand out. But so also does the toll of infant mortality engraved upon these stones - the best-off families losing three and sometimes four children in early childhood. Wealth and heart-break engraved together. Shankill Graveyard is a sacred place. It is a place where all can stand and reflect together.

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