We explore Tom Mulloy’s life – an untrained sculptor from Mayo with intriguing links to Queen Victoria. Even today, his enigmatic statue continues to captivate the imagination of visitors to Crosspatrick cemetery.
Nestled in Crosspatrick graveyard in Co. Mayo, an extraordinary limestone grave monument crowned by a life-size statue commands attention. Its elaborately crafted plinth proudly bears the inscription “+ T. Mulloy + 1880” on the back.
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Who was Tom Mulloy?
The mastermind behind this sculpture was Thomas Mulloy (“Tom”), a publican who lived in the “Half Way House” between Ballina and Killala.
His relative, Mrs Jane E. Bourke Patten from Knox, Ballina, provided an account of the celebrated craftsman in the Schools Folklore Collection (c.1937–39), describing his various talents:
“Tom Mulloy used to make his own clothes. He made his own trap, a two seater to take him to town. He used to carve out of wood beautiful birds and fishes and out of bog oak used to make watch chains and broaches and also ladie’s [sic] earrings which were fashionable at the time. He also carved out a stone statue and placed it on a pedestal over his father’s grave at Crosspatrick. On another occasion he made a chair that one could carry in the pocket when folded. He sent this chair to the London exhibition, nobody there understood what it was as it was in parts. So Tom was sent for and he put the parts together. He made a present of the chair to Queen Victoria who was present at the exhibition. In return for his kindness he got free licence and his heirs after him while the name of Mulloy would remain. Tom never married. He lived to a good age. He lies side by side with his father in Crosspatrick. The stone statue marks the spot where he lies.”
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We also learn from Mrs Bourke Patten that Tom’s father was John Mulloy (“Jack”), a respected local hedge schoolmaster known for his astute navigation and surveying abilities.
Tom had two older brothers. Sadly, the eldest passed away at the young age of 18, while the other, Richard, worked as a house carpenter. Although it was said that Jack’s eldest son was a fine scholar, neither Tom nor Richard was afforded the same educational opportunities by their father.
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This information appears to be mostly accurate as Mrs Bourke Patten’s paternal grandfather was a first cousin to Tom, and her account of the Mulloys was based on stories passed down to her by her deceased father. However, certain details are probably exaggerated, particularly the implication that Tom was permitted to run a public house that evaded licensing laws.
Queen Victoria’s chair
An article from the Tyrawley Herald provides further insight into the chair mentioned by Mrs Bourke Patten, which was apparently showcased at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London’s Crystal Palace:
“The seat of the chair is of sycamore, beautifully inlaid with black oak in imitation of birds perched on a tree. The front has two snakes very accurately delineated, under the seat. The legs are in the form of a serpent, coiled in with the front rail. Each side of the chair has two arms. The lower one is simply coiled. The upper one represents a human arm … At the back of the chair, beginning near the seat, there are two dolphins, whose tails elegantly interwoven with the sides of the chair serve to cement the whole together. The heads of the two fish, meeting together support the Irish Harp, which is surmounted with the shamrock and crown, all elegantly and elaborately carved.”
This intricate project was a four-month endeavour. Regrettably, there is no evidence to suggest that it could fit into one’s pocket!
In 1859, the Tyrawly Herald printed another account of one of Tom Mulloy’s chairs:
“It is a chair, carved out of a solid piece of Irish bog oak, and presenting the appearance of a human being in sitting posture with legs, arms, head, all parts, in fact, complete. It certainly exhibits a great deal of ingenuity, and confers credit upon the labour of the original contriver, amongst whose curious carvings, for which prizes have been obtained at the Industrial Exhibition, it must take a high place.”
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In 1879, a spirited debate ignited in the Irish newspapers regarding the most suitable silverware gift to mark the wedding of Prince Arthur (Duke of Connaught), the son of Queen Victoria and Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia, the daughter of Prince Frederick Charles and a grandniece of the German Emperor Wilhelm I. The Connaught Telegraph proposed the alternative suggestion of presenting the prince with a silver-mounted cradle intricately carved from Connacht bog oak:
“If my suggestions are carried out, our excellent Irish artificer in bog-oak ornaments – Tom Mulloy – would not alone execute the design, but complete the work in a skilled and workmanlike manner.”
While it remains doubtful that such a piece was ever completed, this proposal in the Connaught Telegraph might account for the purported link between Tom Mulloy and Queen Victoria. Although it is also possible that the royal family did indeed retain one of Tom’s chairs after the exhibition in the Crystal Palace.
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The Crosspatrick statue
The arduous task of sculpting the stone statue that now stands in Crosspatrick cemetery took Tom Mulloy many years. Once completed, it was initially placed beside the Half Way House, only to be defaced by vandals. Undeterred, Tom decided to restore the monument. The repaired sculpture was soon erected at his father’s gravesite.
>>> READ MORE: A peculiar cross at Askeaton Friary with contested origins
Opinions vary regarding the identity of the figure depicted, with some maintaining that the statue is a self-portrait of the talented artisan himself, while others speculate that it represents Tom’s father, Jack Mulloy.
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Although there is a certain crudeness to the carvings, this life-size statue perched on a pedestal possesses an undeniable allure. Adorned in a cutaway coat, knee breeches embellished with side buttons, long stockings and buckled shoes, and with arms crossed over the chest, the statue exudes an aura of solemnity. The plinth is decorated with intricate carvings, including a four-leaf clover, an angel, a snake and other unusual motifs.
Fate dealt Tom’s sculpture another blow when a powerful storm in 1927 toppled the statue, leaving it face down for three long years. Eventually, at the request of the local community, building contractor John Molloy (no relation to Tom) selflessly undertook the task of re-erecting the statue free of charge.
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Remembering Tom Mulloy
Even long after Tom’s death, his memory endured in the local area. Today, local lore has it that in his will, Tom left a reward to anyone who could successfully fasten the statue’s open bottom coat button. It shows he certainly had a sense of humour.
The Western People newspaper, in 1930, hailed Tom as “a genius without training”. The newspaper also noted that the local community was now divided over the precise details of the exhibition history of Tom Mulloy’s renowned chair. Some locals argued that it had been displayed at the Crystal Palace Exhibition in 1851, asserting its current home to be Buckingham Palace. Another faction believed it was showcased at the Great Industrial Exhibition in Dublin in 1853 and was subsequently housed in the National Museum in Dublin.
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Both claims likely contain elements of truth, as an 1857 report in the Connaught Telegraph referred to the “far-famed ‘Tom Mulloy’ of the celebrated London and Dublin exhibitions”.
If you have any information about Tom Mulloy and his artistic creations, we encourage you to share it by commenting below
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Archaeological Survey of Ireland, RMP MA022-043002.
[https://maps.archaeology.ie/
HistoricEnvironment/]
Ballina Herald, 7 Dec. 1946.
Connaught Telegraph, 22 Feb. 1879.
‘Crosspatrick / “Crospatrai” Cemetery’. Sacred Landscapes.
[http://www.sacredlandscapes.ie/
crosspatrick-cemetery.html]
Kerry Evening Post, 2 Feb. 1859 (see for Tyrawly Herald report).
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, NIAH no. 31302209.
[https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/
buildings-search/building/
31302209/crosspatrick-co-mayo]
The Schools’ Collection, vol. 147, pp.29–38, National Folklore Collection, UCD.
[https://www.duchas.ie/
en/cbes/4428053/
4372796/4464740]
Western People, 9 Aug. 1930.
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