Grave Matters examines the universal subject of death looking at the particular experience of death, burial and commemoration in Dublin since the 16th century. Using death as a way of understanding social conditions, these essays consider the role of the public funeral in establishing political hierarchies, the fate of the city's poor during the era of the penal laws and the survival of the death penalty to 1990.

Contributions also explore the meanings behind humble headstones and elaborate memorials and investigate post-mortem photography.