Within the Protestant section of Clonoghill Cemetery, perched upon the crest of the hill, is the grave of Sarah Mussin. Only aged 5 months old when she died in June 1870. Her memorial is one you could easily pass without taking notice.
Sarah Mussin was born on 27 January 1870 in Belfast Barracks (Victoria Barracks). She was daughter of Sergeant George Mussin and Mary Mussin (Née Coffey).
George was from Belfast, he enlisted in the 18th Regiment of Foot (Royal Irish Regiment) at Manchester on 20 December 1855, aged 19 years. He would go on to serve 20 years and 227 days, of which 13 years and 7 days was foreign service in India and Malta. Promoted up the ranks to Sergeant, his conduct was described as “very good”.
While stationed in Birr Barracks, Sarah died. No death certificate has been traced, and it is probable her death was never registered. It is interesting Sarah was interred in Clonoghill Cemetery rather than the military cemetery attached to the barracks. In 1870 four other children and one soldier died in the barracks, all being interred in the military cemetery. It is possible the military cemetery was starting to experience overcrowding and her parents decided the new cemetery would be a more peaceful place.
Sarah’s burial register entry gives a conflicting date of death, 25th June, and the date of burial as 26th, suggesting the date on the memorial could be incorrect. However, without a death certificate no concrete date can be established. The inscription on her memorial:
Sacred
TO THE MEMORY OF
SARAH
THE INFANT DAUGHTER OF
GEORGE MUSSIN
Sergt, 1st. Battn, 18th R.I.Regt
WHO DEPT. THIS LIFE AT BIRR, 7TH JUNE 1870
AGED 9 MONTHS
We stood beside thy silent bed
Thy marble brow was cold and dead
Thy gentle soul to Heaven hath fled
Dear babe wee’ll meet again
Yes parent’s smile through all your tears
A crown of life your darling wears
This grave a shady porch appears
To where wee’ll meet again
George went on to serve until he took his discharge from the army in 1877, his intended place of residence given as Dublin.