Richie Clarke and Niall Breslin unveiling the cross Richie carved in memory of those buried at the cemetery at St Loman’s Hospital.

Richie Clarke cross unveiled at St Loman’s graveyard

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Richie Clarke and Niall Breslin unveiling the cross Richie carved in memory of those buried at the cemetery at St Loman’s Hospital.

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People who have family members buried in the St Loman’s graveyard at the unveiling of the cross last week.

Published: Fri 30 Jan 2026, 11:39 AM

A cross carved by sculptor Ritchie Clarke was officially unveiled at the St Loman’s Cemetery for the filming of the RTÉ documentary last week. Ashling Fallon Casey, producer/director of the film, explained to the Westmeath Examiner how that came about.

“Ritchie’s parents worked in St Loman’s, and in our research we had contacted people that had connections to St Loman’s. One of the reasons we were interested in Ritchie was in 2013, staff members decided to write a book on the history of St Loman’s, and they commissioned Ritchie to make a sculpture – which is near the unit that’s open here now. That was in recognition of all staff and of people who had been in St Loman’s – for everyone.

“We thought that sculpture was lovely and we were going to interview Ritchie about that. But when we started talking to him and we told him the story, he offered to create a new memorial sculpture for the graveyard, and he has donated that. It’s his creation, his idea, he just wanted to contribute in acknowledgment of everyone that’s buried here. So it was a really lovely contribution.”