On Sunday the 5th November Dublin Sketchers will sketch St John the Baptist Cemetery and Clontarf Castle for a Halloween Themed Session from 2pm and meet for drinks at 4pm in Clontarf Castle.
A fascinating place located behind Clontarf Castle, this graveyard predates the early seventeenth-century church of St John the Baptist. The graveyard contains a number of well-sculpted grave markers of considerable artistic interest and is of historical interest as the resting place of many notable individuals. Bram Stoker was baptised here in December 1847 and legend has it that it inspired him to write his novel Dracula. It’s an irregular-plan graveyard, established c. 1300, having ruined church of c. 1610 and inscribed gravestones and markers from eighteenth century to present date, tarmacadam paths, and gable-fronted limestone pedestrian entrance of c. 1840 to south-east corner. Although it is a Church of Ireland graveyard it has a number of Catholic burials from the period before Emancipation. It is still used by families with established plots. It creates an interesting group, contextualises the ruined church, and forms part of a larger group of related structures that include Clontarf Castle and the nineteenth-century Church of St. John the Baptist. The fine pedestrian gateway links it stylistically with these other structures.
If it’s your first time out and you can’t spot anyone at 2pm, just choose something to sketch and get stuck in. Keep your eyes open for anyone carrying a sketchbook and say hello. It's a friendly crowd who you’ll get to know over a drink from 4pm. Don't worry if you're late, most of us usually are! You need to bring your own paper and pens/pencils etc.
Getting there: stop 1772, bus 130 from Abbey St
If you would like your
sketch to be added to the website, email it to dublinsketchers @ gmail .com or
post it to the Dublin Sketchers Social WhatsApp group if you are on that.
Please edit your image so that it is low res and properly oriented for posting
to the website. If you are posting your sketch on Instagram please
#dublinsketchers #urbansketchers
Hope to see you there!
Marie
