The Knights Templar Graveyard Project

The Knights Templar Graveyard Project in Kilbarry, Waterford is a quietly powerful example of how grassroots heritage work can revive a forgotten medieval landscape through care, persistence, and community spirit.

The site itself, located near the Lacken Road area in Kilbarry, is traditionally associated with a medieval Knights Templar preceptory, later linked to the Knights Hospitaller, placing it among Waterford’s most historically layered ecclesiastical sites. Over centuries, it fell into severe neglect, eventually becoming heavily overgrown and almost inaccessible.

The modern restoration effort began with Paddy Houlihan, a local man from Ballybeg, who became concerned about the condition of the graveyard and began working on it with his young granddaughter, Katie Houlihan, originally as a school-based initiative, read the full story here from my interview with Paddy in “The Dream of a Young Girl and Her Grandfather”. What began as a family-led act of care gradually grew into a wider volunteer movement. Katie became a symbolic heart of the project, with a dedicated area of the site later affectionately known as “Katie’s Corner.”

They were shortly joined by Maggie Moody, who created the beautiful butterfly wall, read my article on it from my interview with Maggie here in “Maggie’s Butterfly Wall”. Over time, volunteers formed a loose community group that began clearing brambles, restoring pathways, documenting headstones, and re-establishing access to the graveyard. Their work transformed what had been an almost “lost” heritage site into a living green space of remembrance and reflection. The graveyard is now regularly maintained by thesevolunteers and local residents who continue planting, cleaning, and protecting it.

The project has also received civic recognition, with visits from local officials and heritage bodies, acknowledging the group’s contribution to safeguarding Waterford’s medieval past. A restored 1700s tombstone after vandalism further highlighted the ongoing commitment of volunteers and local conservation specialists working alongside them.

Today, the Kilbarry Knights Templar Graveyard stands as something more than an archaeological site. It is a reclaimed place of memory; where medieval history, personal dedication, and community resilience meet. Though informal in structure, the volunteer group continues to act as custodians of a site that once risked being erased entirely from the landscape, ensuring its survival for future generations.