Paradise Graveyard Burials

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"This small burial ground is situated in a rather remote but beautiful position in the upper part of what was known to the [Henn] family as ‘The Shore Field’, overlooking the southern end of Deer Island and the meeting of the waters of the rivers Fergus and Shannon. It is consecrated ground, an Act of consecration being recorded in an entry dated 5 October 1887 in the Church of Ireland’s Diocesan Registry for Killaloe and Clonfert. The graves lie within a small stone-walled enclosure entered through an iron gate, this being surrounded originally by a larger area enclosed within a wire and iron post fence and planted with flowering shrubs and evergreen trees." Taken from ‘The Henn family of Paradise’, Notes compiled by Francis Robert Henn (2008)

Plaques on outer wall of burial ground

Plaque one:

In loving memory of William Francis Henn C.B.E. M.V.O
4th March 1892 – 27th April 1964
The ashes of his mortal remains lie here strewn
Gloria Deo

Plaque two:

And in memory of his wife
Geraldine Frances Jane
24th August 1889 – 20th January 1981
Whose ashes lie here mingled with his
And I shall have some peace there

Graves:

1. In loving memory of Francis Blackburn Henn
Born 28th February 1848
Died 10th November 1915
And of
Helen Letitia his wife
Who died 7th May 1936

2. In loving memory of Adela Jane Gibbons
Beloved wife of James Samuel Gibbons
And daughter of Thomas Rice Henn
Born May 10th 1853
Died June 1890

3. In loving memory of Lily Margaret
Eldest child of James and Adela Gibbons
Born August 21st 1880
Died June 10th 1888

4. In loving memory of the infant daughter
Of Elizabeth and Milton Henn
Born 25th July 1896
Died 28th July 1896
Of such is the kingdom of heaven

There are mounds visible between graves one and two and also between graves two and three. It is reasonable to assume that these are also the graves of members of the Henn family.

Burials at Paradise - Based on Newspaper Reports by Gerry McMahon

-William Henn (1847-1894)
William Henn (1847-1894), died at Paradise House on 1 Sep 1894 and was buried there on 4 Sep . His wife Susan died in Plymouth in 1911 and is buried at Rothesay, in her native Scotland.

-Thomas Rice Henn (1814-1901)
Thomas Rice Henn (1814-1901), died at Paradise House on 7 Jun 1901, aged 87. He was buried at Paradise Hill

Burials – Based on Other Sources:

-Mary Rice (Lily) Henn (1856-1883)
Mary Rice (Lily) Henn, second and youngest daughter of Thomas Rice and Jane Isabella Henn was born at the family home in Mount Street, Dublin, in late 18565. She died at the French spa town of Aix-les-Bains on 24 Sep 18836, aged 26. Visitations of Ireland (1911) indicates that she was buried at Paradise Hill . At the time of her death the Paradise Hill cemetery had not been set up. It’s not currently known where she was buried in the interim, but it may have been in Kildysart churchyard.

-Jane Isabella Henn (c1820-1902)
Jane Isabella Henn (c1820-1902), widow of Thomas Rice Henn, survived her husband by only ten months and died at the Dublin family home, 48 Upper Mount Street, on 29 Apr 1902, aged 82.
I haven’t found a newspaper report confirming that she was buried at Paradise Hill. However, Visitations of Ireland (1911) states that she was. If buried in Dublin, she would most likely have been buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery; she doesn’t appear in the records of that cemetery. It’s almost certain that she is buried with her husband at Paradise Hill.