A play telling the story of Margorie McCall – the woman famously reported as having ‘lived once’ but been ‘buried twice’ – could be held in the County Armagh graveyard where her mortal remains now lie.
For anyone not familiar, the legend surrounding the life and death of Margorie McCall dates back to the early 18th Century.
She is interred in Shankill Graveyard in Lurgan, which is under the ownership of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council.
And now a local drama group wants to bring that story – to life, so to speak! – at her final (or is it?) resting place!!
Much has been written about Margorie, the wife of a doctor, who lived at Church Place in Lurgan.
When she ‘passed away’ in 1705, the extraordinary turn of events which followed revolves around attempts by gravediggers to steal her wedding ring.
It is well-covered in many sources but we believe this summation – by Lurgan Ancestry – aptly and concisely suffices…
“When Margorie fell ill, her husband John was beside himself with worry – in the early 1700s many illnesses we consider minor today could be fatal and ‘the fever’ was a great catch-all for many of these ailments. Sadly, Margorie succumbed to her bout of fever and was buried in Shankill Church of Ireland Cemetery, not far from her home in Church Place. She was hastily buried for fear of the fever spreading, and that should have been the end of that; however, she was to become one of the most famous women in Lurgan – and is still talked about today.
“There was quite a lot of commotion at the wake concerning a valuable ring that Margorie was wearing. Many of the mourners tried in vain to prise the ring from her fingers – perhaps because they anticipated the possibility that grave robbers would desecrate Margorie’s resting place in order to steal the ring. Margorie was buried still wearing her beautiful gold wedding ring. Due to her husband’s inability to remove it from her finger, which had swollen considerably since her death, but news of the treasure leaked out to the resurrectionists. They spotted the opportunity to gain themselves a bonus.
“After the wake – which was traditionally an attempt to avoid premature burial as the family of the deceased would sit and watch over the body for a few days to see if the person awakened – Margorie was duly interred in Shankill Graveyard.
“That evening, before the soil had time to settle on Margorie’s coffin, the grave-robbers paid a visit. Working under cover of darkness they grappled in the dirt until they reached and opened her coffin. True to the rumour, the ring was still on her finger. Before removing the body, they attempted to purloin the valuable item, but it wouldn’t budge. Being businessmen, they weren’t about to allow such a prize to make its way to a surgeon’s slab, and since she couldn’t get any deader, they agreed to cut off her finger to free the ring.
“As soon as blood was drawn from Margorie she came to – revived from the coma-like state – or ‘swoon’ – she had fallen into. She sat bolt upright, eyes wide and wailed like a banshee. There are differing reports as to the fate of the body-snatchers: one states that one of the men dropped dead on the spot from fright; the other that they both ran for their lives, never to resume their dubious occupation.
“Whatever the truth of the matter, it’s pretty certain that they’d never have forgotten that little misadventure. The bold Margorie helped herself out of the ground and stumbled the short distance to her home.
“At home, her husband John was sitting with their children and relatives, bemoaning her passing and toasting her journey to a better place. When the door rapped three times. John – still wracked with grief – exclaimed – ‘if your mother were still alive, I’d swear that was her knock’. And sure enough, upon opening the door John was confronted by his ‘late’ wife – dressed in her burial clothes, blood dripping from her almost severed finger, but very much alive. John’s response is disputed, but most tellings of this story agree that he dropped dead on the floor. Now there’s a quandary: joy and sadness in equal measure for the rest of the family. Margorie alive and relatively well, but John deader than Margorie ever was. He was buried in the plot Margorie had recently vacated.
“Margorie went on to re-marry and have several children, although it was rumoured that she left the grave pregnant by an ‘unspecified suitor’. When she did finally die she was returned to Shankill Graveyard and to this day her grave stone still stands.
“It bears the inscription – ‘Lived Once, Buried Twice’.
“She is still remembered by the townspeople of Lurgan today, and it’s said that on occasion she can be seen wandering Shankill Cemetery, perhaps looking for those who wronged her.”
With such a fascinating back story, it seems fitting that a dramatic re-enactment would follow.
And now there are plans by Dark Forest Theatre to stage their play ‘Margorie’s Dead’ at Lurgan Town Hall and Brownlow House on October 19 and 25 respectively.
But the theatre company, in partnership with Lurgan Townscape Heritage Centre, also wants to hold a free outdoor afternoon performance on October 20.
And what better stage for the performance than Shankill Graveyard!
The play details the “circumstances of events which led to her being buried” in 1705 and attempts to steal her wedding ring.
Councillors will decide whether or not to allow the drama to proceed inside the graveyard where she now lies.
For they have been told, in a report from officers: “There has never been an event of this nature in one of our cemeteries before and hence it will be important that council and the organisers put adequate measures in place to ensure the safety of the performers and the public.”
The request will be discussed at Monday night’s monthly meeting.
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