Count Tolstoy Was Here!

Shay 20NOV16

or our rambling Delgany history lesson with Shay Clear this week, we head to the 6th century graveyard in the centre of the town, and discover enough incredible tales to, well, wake the dead.

Did you know, for example, that the nephew of Leo Tolstoy – the man behind the 1869 bestseller War And Peace, my friend – lived in Delgany for many years?

From the early 1950s, according to Shay, for about a decade – although The Irish Times, whilst profiling a house for sale on the old Tolstoy property, claim the man lived here for 60 years. Which might be nonsense.

We’ve been assured by local resident Anna Bykova that this particular Tolstoy arrived in Ireland in 1951/52, and that although he was related to Leo Tolstoy, he wasn’t a direct descendant. Anna knows all this because she’s read The Story Of My Life by Michael Pavlovich Kutuzov-Tolstoy, published in the 1980s. Michael sadly passed in 1980, and is buried in Delgany, alongside Countess Tolstoy (who passed in 1971), at Christ Church Delgany.

Just head in through the main gates, and right to the very back wall, where you’ll find the double-grave just to your right.

By the way, Shay has asked us to clarify that his early statement in the interview of the grounds being 16th century was a mere slip of the cosmos, and we should point out too that Saint Mogheanóg – whose cell was said to be based here in the late 6th century and early 7th century – proved the inspiration when it came to naming the nearby Kilmacanogue (Cill Mocheanóg meaning, of course, Mochoeanóg’s Church). Oh, and Shay thought our boy Kutuzov was the late, great author’s great-great-grandson. He’s actually a nephew. We think… 

Also, if you’d like a list of those buried in the Delgany Graveyard, you can find a fairly comprehensive list here. And it’s a site worth visiting, given the granite font, church ruins, and dome-shaped gravestones from the 18th century, boasting some fine Elizabethan lettering and symbols.

Finally, life is full of coincidences, my friend – as we headed from the old Delgany graveyard down to Christ Church, and Tolstoy’s grave, a lady who now lives where Tolstoy once dwelt called Shay over to say how much she enjoyed his history chats on the Guide.

Jaysus, the swagger on Shay when he crossed back over the road…

You can read Anna’s deeper biography of Michael Tolstoy here, find out more about Lailli de Buitlear’s Delgany graveyard tours here. And get more Delgany Days With Shay kicks here.