The Old Church Grave Yard in Cobh is the eternal resting place of many of Cobh's former inhabitants and many of whom were brought here by the sea. The grave yard is alleged to have been in use since Celtic times and was formerly known as Clonmel Church. Many graves here bear witness to Cobh's maritime history with graves from English royalty down to simple graves of exotic crew men, marked simply as "A Black Man". The sites is most famous for being the resting place of the victims of the Lusitania which sank on its way to Cobh (then Queenstown) Three large mass graves tell the sad story of the ill-fated liner which sank in 1915. Local man Jack Gillmartin gives a very informative guided tour of the site on the 1st Sunday of every month and because he loves it so much his tours are completely free. Jack also has a vast knowledge and database of who and where people are buried here, which is very useful to people trying to trace their roots. Some of the famous people interred here are James Roche Verling who was Napoleon's doctor during his stay in captivity on St. Helena, The Countess Of Huntington, poet Charles Wolfe and playwright Jon Tobin, along with local favorite boxing champion Hollywood film star Jack Doyle.
