The Kinnitty Pyramid is the burial tomb of six members of the Bernard family, once the wealthy landowners of nearby Kinnitty Castle. It is believed Richard Wesley Bernard, did a tour of duty in Egypt in the early 19th century and as he was trained in engineering and architecture himself, was inspired to construct a 30-foot pyramid in the graveyard of Kinnitty’s village church.
The pyramid is a made-to-scale replica of the Great Pyramid of Giza and is visible from much of the village where it stands on top of a hill behind the churchyard. The pyramid took four years to complete, finished off in 1834. The first Bernard entombed was young Margaret, who was laid to rest in 1842 at the age of only 24, after being bitten by a rabid dog. Over the next 65 years five more Bernards followed, the final member of the family, Ellen Georgina in 1907.
Kinnitty is a small village near Birr, Co. Offaly