Man buried in pauper's grave in Wexford claimed to be heir to South African fortune

The grave of Mark Dean Heardon at St Ibar's Cemetery, Crosstown, Wexford. Photo: Patrick Browne

A man who claimed to be an heir to a South African fortune is among those buried in a pauper’s grave in Wexford which also holds the remains of an unidentified woman found almost 30 years ago.

Bristol native Mark Dean Heardon drowned off Hook Head on March 5, 1995, while sailing on his own from Waterford to Dublin. He is buried in a pauper’s grave in St Ibar’s cemetery in Crosstown, which also holds the remains of a woman known as Ballinamona Woman, whose remains were discovered near Kilmuckridge, Co Wexford, in December 1995.