 Although it had been used by teachers as a shortcut between the Church (when it was being used as a boys' school) and the nearby girls' school, its original function is said to have been as an entrance for Roman Catholics when attending funerals at a time when they were barred from entering the main gates of a Protestant church.Many Irish Republican graves lie within the graveyard, including the gravestones of Lorcain McSuibhne, a member of the Irish Republican Army killed in 1922 in Kildare (his funeral occurred at St. Nahi's and there exists photographic evidence of Éamon de Valera in attendance) and of James Burke, who was killed in Croke Park on Bloody Sunday.The graveyard also contains many Royal Irish Constabulary Officers and Freemasons.