The broken limestone slab, measuring 55cm wide, 92cm long, and 11cm thick, bears an inscription carved in Roman script that reads: “HERE LYETH THE BODY OF JOHN LINDSEY BEING 27 YEARS OF AGE DECEASED THE 30 DAY OF JUNE ANO DOM. 1685”. Though the top portion of the stone has been damaged over the centuries, the main text remains clearly legible, offering a tangible connection to late 17th century Donegal.

What makes this particular graveslab especially intriguing is what’s now missing from it. According to records from the late 19th century, specifically the Memorials of the Dead published between 1895 and 1897, there was once a coat of arms carved below the inscription. This heraldic symbol, which would have indicated the Lindsey family’s social standing and lineage, has since vanished; whether through weathering, vandalism, or deliberate removal remains unknown. The presence of a coat of arms suggests that John Lindsey was likely from a family of some local importance, making his early death all the more poignant.

The graveslab was documented during the Urban Survey of Donegal conducted by Bradley and Dunne in 1989, and later compiled into archaeological records by Caimin O’Brien in December 2008. Its survival through more than three centuries, despite the loss of the coat of arms and damage to its upper section, makes it a valuable piece of local heritage. For those interested in genealogy or the social history of 17th century Ireland, this modest stone offers a glimpse into the life, or rather the death, of a young man whose family thought him worthy of both a formal Latin inscription and heraldic commemoration.