It is, together with Glasnevin and Mount Jerome, one of the largest cemeteries in the Dublin area, occupying 70 acres (28 ha).

The Burial Act of 1855 resulted in the closure of many of the older churchyards in Dublin and its environs due to overcrowding.

The new committee set about appointing Matthew Betham as the chairman and Joseph Cope as the office clerk of administrative duties and the building of the new cemetery.

[2] The cemetery was laid out with just two sections, North for Catholic and South for Protestant religions as well as separate chapels for both.

[4] Also interred at Deans Grange: There are also many members of Roman Catholic religious orders buried here such as the Congregation of Christian Brothers, Daughters of the Cross, Holy Ghost Fathers, Irish Vincentians, the Little Sisters of the Assumption and the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.