Day of local cemetery may soon be dead and buried

By TONY GALVIN GALWAY may be forced to set up regionally based graveyards if a current crux over a shortage of grave plots cannot be resolved. This was the warning issued by Co Council Director of Services Jim Cullen when the problematic issue of extending existing graveyards was discussed at a meeting in County Hall on Monday. Members of the Co Council were told that it was no longer Department of Environment policy to support the extensions of existing graveyards when these cemeteries are full. The policy now is to establish new facilities. Concerns over the preservation of the archaeological integrity of many graveyards had led to a crackdown on the extensions and the favouring of green-field sites to meet future needs. However, this policy is expected to cause deep resentment in many communities where generations of families have traditionally been buried in their local graveyard. Fears are being expressed over the problems associated with acquiring suitable graveyard sites and concerns that the tradition of people being buried in their home areas could be coming to an end as existing cemetery space fills up. Senior council official Jim Cullen warned that acquiring land to extend cemeteries was proving very difficult and he was concerned that the council would have to resort to establishing regional graveyards people would have to travel miles to. He made it clear that this was not a situation the council wanted to see happen and called for all interested parties to work in partnership in an effort to find a solution to the issue. Cllr Sean O Tuairisg expressed the concern that grave space is becoming so scarce in Connemara that he feared people would have to be transported across the Corrib to be buried in East Galway if matters continued as they were. He argued that there were eight burial grounds in Connemara but six were now full and this was proving very frustrating for families in the region. 'Do we have to go to east Galway to bury our people?' he demanded, pointing out that he had put this matter on the council's agenda time and time again without receiving any satisfactory resolution. The debate was sparked over the extension to Kilcoona cemetery in Caherlistrane. Cllr Sean Canney pointed out that the land needed for this extension had been donated two and a half years ago and expressed concern over the delay in preparing the site. He warned that if the Department of the Environment had its way they would have had to look for a new site and expressed concern that a number of other graveyards such as Cummer were in  need of extension. Jim Cullen explained that even with what he described as 'the incredibly generous donation of the land' for Kilcoona the extension was very difficult to get through with the Department of the Environment and he warned that another extension would not be allowed. Cllr Canney said this issue would come to a head in the next few years as older graveyards run out of space and planning permission is withheld for their extension.