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Updated 12.32
Shane MacThomais surveying his beloved Glasnevin Cemetery in 2010. Image: Niall Carson/PA Images archive.
SHANE MACTHOMAIS, the high-profile resident historian for Glasnevin Cemetery, has passed away.
MacThomais’s entertaining and knowledgeable tours of the largest non-denominational graveyard in the country made him a popular figure among visitors and staff alike, and he was a regular voice on radio and in articles about the history of Glasnevin/Prospect Cemetery.
Glasnevin Trust confirmed to TheJournal.ie this morning that MacThomais had died suddenly yesterday. His body was discovered at Glasnevin Cemetery at around noon. He was just 46 years of age.
George McCullagh, CEO of Glasnevin Trust, told TheJournal.ie that MacThomais first came to the organisation on a FÁS scheme but “stood out – and was with us ever since, man and boy”.
McCullagh said:
The staff and I are absolutely devastated. He was a colleague but he was also a close personal friend. Shane absolutely loved Glasnevin.He was our star.
He is survived by his daughter, mother, sister and brother.
Most recently, MacThomais was involved in plans for the refurbishment of the O’Connell Tower, a focal point in the cemetery. The tower was bombed by loyalist terrorists in 1971, knocking out a winding wooden staircase which once reached the windows at the top of the 168ft-structure.
In an interview with TheJournal.ie last Christmas, MacThomais said that a new staircase was being built and that he was looking forward to when visitors could once again gain access to the views from the top “to the Wicklow Mountains, up to the Cooleys or Mourne Mountains to the north and across the land to Meath”.
MacThomais himself was the first to see those views in decades, scaling the outside of the tower by ladder last year. He shared this picture of his feat with us:
Image: Shane MacThomais/Glasnevin Trust.
Passionate about chronicling the ‘residents’ and history of Glasnevin and related cemeteries, MacThomais wrote a book in 2012 doing just that. His father Eamonn was also a well-known historian, and had a television series about the history of Dublin in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
At the publication of his book published by Mercier Press – entitled, with characteristic humour, Dead Interesting – MacThomais told the Southside People,
This has been both a professional and personal journey for me. I grew up surrounded by history through my father so it was a natural progression to do what I’m doing today. It’s nice to be able to carry on the family tradition and that love of history.
All proceeds from the book went towards restoration and maintenance of graves in Glasnevin.
A feature-length documentary about Glasnevin Cemetery and its history – which features interviews with Shane MacThomais – is currently in post-production.
Shane MacThomais (back to camera) is seen here in May of last year giving a tour to Edward, the Duke of Kent. He was showing how the graves of a 1916 Easter Rising Volunteer, Edward Ennis, and a sergeant in the British Army Royal Dublin Fusileers, Patrick Dunne, who both died in 1916, lie side by side in Glasnevin Cemetery. Image: Julien Behal/PA Images
This was Shane relaying the tale of the death of Daniel O’Connell inside the crypt at the foot of the O’Connell Tower for Storymap Dublin in 2011:
via Storymap Dublin
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Another great Dubliner gone..
The Chinese have a saying about this kind of person. When someone like this dies a library has been burnt down. RIP.
Life really isn’t fair.. This man contributed so much to Irish society and I’m sure he left tourists and Irish people with a smile on their faces anytime they met. Then we have the other side of Dublin people, the scrouts that kicked that poor man in the face.. They’ll probably live to 80 and contribute nothing to society. Just live off the rest of us hard working people..
I’m so very sorry to hear this. He had the skills of his dad Eamonn, a man I listened to avidly on both radio and TV, hoping, because he was so brilliant, that he’d never pass away. His son did him proud, but didn’t spend long enough with us. R. I. P
R.I.P Shane
Shane was an outstanding expert on everything that had to do with Glasnevin. He was a passionate historian and was able to explain and weave stories to make every little bit of history interesting and exciting. I would dare to say that he left a lasting impression on anybody he met and his sudden death is a big loss. Very very sad!
Rip a passionate historian the world is a poorer place. sympathies to his family and friends
A loss to everyone interested in Irish history. RIP.
A loss to Ireland and to mankind – not enough people on Earth like Shane i’m afraid …RIP great inspirational man
That is sad news. A gentleman of the highest order.
Jaysis stunned. Only a young man. Remember bringing a group and getting the tour from Shane. Great day out. Rip shane
What a lovely man, he will be greatly missed. RIP.
A lovely man just like his late Dad RIP
Great loss for Dublin, it’s rare these days to find a man with such energy and passion in his work
Suan síoraí, a chomrádaí!
RIP Comrade. x
Passionate – in everything he said and did .
Immensely proud , in all the right ways and reasons .
Poblachtanach – like all before him.
Great respect for all victims of wars .
Immense loss to history , but most of all , I’m sure to his immediate Clann.
Immensely proud and honoured to have enjoyed our relatively short friendship .
Having enjoyed the friendship and kinship of his Athair and his Godfather , in another earlier and similar glorious if darker era, in Irish History.
He will be sorely missed by everyone he touched and beyond !
Deeply saddened by the news, a man I knew many years, a decent guy, a great historian, and an Irish Republican. Slán go fóill Shane.
RIP Shane MacThomais
RIP Shane.
Rest In Peace Shane
An immense loss! He will be sadly missed! RIP SHANE!
This is sad news.
Shocked to hear the sad news of Shane’s untimely death. RIP. He was a superb guide, innovator and motivator. A great friend and force for change at Glasnevin. He will be greatly missed by all.
It was such a shock to hear about Shane this morning, a wonderful and vibrant man full of knowledge and stories. I had the good luck to be on a guided tour with him and a group of others last August, a very funny, personable and interesting man,.
RIP Shane and my condolences to his colleagues in Glasnevin Museum and to his family.
Ah what a pity. Farewell Shane MacThomais.
A huge void really like him so much like his dad.
I met him once at the Museum. One meeting ill always remember.
I was very sad to hear the news, and there’s little more tribute I can offer than the many condolences already voiced.
Separately however, I find it odd how a few of red thumbs down have been put on practically every comment, even ones as innocuous as simply ‘RIP Shane’; isn’t it odd how some people behave at the demise of another? I feel truly sorry for them. Shane may be prematurely dead, but – unlike some others – at least he had a great life, with a true passion for a topic which he generously shared with anyone and everyone. May he rest in peace.
Dublin has lost its heart today. So long Shane..
Ignore them Nigel
Very sad news. Heard him on the radio a few times – made history vibrant. People like Shane make you realise why history should stay as a core subject on the Junior cert curriculum. My loss that I never took his tour.
RIP – heard Shane on Newstalk with George Hook not long ago touring Glasnevin – sound like a nice guy with a wealth of Knowledge and someone who enjoyed going to work each day.
RIP. He was a great and passionate historian.
RIP.
Listen to him many times on the Radio, his passion & energy were infectious, a genuinely entertaining & proud Irishman. If I can be permitted to make a seemingly unrelated but salient point, this is exactly the sort of person who the state should support in life & honour in death. When you remember that Charlie Haughey got a state funeral with all the trappings & his dumb & dumber acolytes Bertie Ahern & Brian Cowan will get the same taxpayer funded pomp & ceremony when they die, it makes you wonder where & why did this great country of ours go so horribly wrong ! My deepest sympathies to all of Shane’s family & friends.
RIP Shane, you were a big inspiration to me and to others that knew you.
I heard the news as I was going to work this morning and instantly felt a cloud over me. I knew of Shane’s dad from a number of different things and really enjoyed his approach to things. I met Shane in Glasnevin years ago when I was in my first year of a history degree at university. Even though he was the man everyone was listening to he kept taking time out to ask about what aspects of history I was interested in and what parts I was studying at Uni. When the tour was over he wouldn’t accept any money from me and wished me good luck with the rest of my studies. We had each other’s contact details and when I finished my degree I began doing various articles on Irish history for different history sites and mags. He was really complimentary and encouraging to me and what I was doing. This meant a hell of a lot to me because of who he was and the historical pedigree of his family. I’ll never forget the generosity of spirit he showed to me.
Very saddened to hear of Shanes passing. R.I.P.
We were friends in our 20′s. I am shocked and saddened by the news.
Absolutely shocked to learn of Shane’s death. He was the perfect Dubliner and a gentle man. Slan go Foll a chara.
Was he related to Eamon macthomas?
He was Éamonn’s son.
Nicola, thanks and I thought so.
Eamonn was a great storyteller as well.
Eamonn was his “Da” as he told a group of us from Cork he showed around Glasnevin. A great Republican.
his dad.
Very sad, he really brought the whole history of Glasnevin and its residents to live ( pardon the pun ) He will be missed.
I met Shane 10 years ago. I found him to be extremely nice and pleasant person who always had time for a chat. I’m sorry I never did his walking tour of Dublin. Slan go foil a chara.
I am really sad to hear about the passing of Shane. I thoroughly enjoyed his tour of Glasnevin and he hat the wit and charm of his Father. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L7O7oU47n4 RIP Shane will miss your wicked sense of humour and all your contributions about our Fair City. Sleep tight up there with your beloved Dad
Such sad news. RIP xx
I had the pleasure of knowing and working in the same establishment with Shane, A great man, Everyone who knew him instantly loved him, it Will be weird Not Seeing him stroll around the cemetery, or to have him come in for an Americano in the cafe, RIP Shane, your legacy within glasnevin will never fade, gone but Certainty never will you be forgotten,
Sad sad News, RIP Shane.
I am so, so sorry to hear this news. He had an incredible bank of knowledge and a unique way of communicating it, and I imagine he made a big impression on anyone who ever met him – I know he did on me. A huge loss to Dublin city and my sympathies go to his family, friends and colleagues at Glasnevin Cemetery.
His knowledge of, & passion for, Irish history & heritage was unsurpassed.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam
Fantastic ambassador and his tour was always delivered with such knowledge, engagement and illumination. A great loss. RIP
So so sad to hear this tragic news! As a former History student in TCD, I had the pleasure of meeting Shane during a tour of the cemetery and witnessed first-hand his clear passion & knowledge of Glasnevin Cemetery. I subsequently did my dissertation on the formation Glasnevin Cemetery and Shane kindly offered his wise words & knowledge to me on the subject… Will be forever grateful to him. May he rest in peace.
Ah that’s sad to hear, did his tour and always meant to do it again, very enjoyable day out, seems like a fitting tribute that he passed away in the cemetery which he knew so much about, he’ll be sadly missed, condolences to his mother and sisters
Such a shame. The good often die too young; a good life cut short. Those horrible guys that kicked the Brazilian in the head on St. Patrick’s Day will probably be around draining our resources to old age. Life is so unfair sometimes.
R I P Shane
I was shocked to hear of the sudden passing of Shane. A true son of Ireland and a most charismatic character. I was lucky to have been given a personal guided tour of the cemetery along with 2 friends. Shane had a great passion for Ireland and it’s wonderful history. He will be missed by many and I am all the richer in my knowledge of Irish history for meeting him. God bless Shane
That’s dreadful, was on the Glasnevin tour only yesterday, had hoped he would be the guide. Didn’t realise he had just passed away before I arrived. RIP, I also did some work with his dad.
Farewell Shane…a sad loss to us all
There is a Facebook page, Shane Mac Thomais remembered, if anyone likes to join.
Will be sadly missed like his late dad may he rest in peace
I’ll miss the banter but mostly the man. I’m devastated to hear of his death.
RIP Shane. A gentle man with knowledge wit and sunny disposition. Took walks with his Dad and did the tour with Shane in Glasnevin. Am sorry I won’t get the chance to do another tour with him. It was fitting that he passed away in a place he worked so hard to educate people about and in which he was fascinated with. It’s a wonderful tribute to him that Glasnevin cemetery is such a popular place to visit. He made it live again. Gone but never forgotten and am quite sure he will be still be quietly walking around checking up on things.
Rip…. He will be missed
I met him once, sleep easy Shane
He was a true legend RIP
What a sad loss great historian like his Father before him ,His column in The Northside People was an informative read R I P Shane
so sorry for the family
A tour of Glasnevin will surely not be the same without his eloquent true tales of those who lie in that cemetery. He hailed from a strong Republican tradition, but was not in any way subjective, as he told the stories of the dead in Glasnevin. Ar dheis dé go raibh a anam.
Sorry to hear of the death of a great person RIP
RIP Shane you were indeed a star gone but not forgotton
Some people can show the best of themselves so easily
naturally lighting up and sharing that light
finding themselves in their right place
seemed a wonderfull space to be
and now occupying a place in our history and our hearts
Colette
some people can show you who they are so easily
naturally lighting up and sharing that light
finding themselves in their right place
seemed like a wonderful space to be
and now occupying a place in our history and our hearts
Colette Bradley
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