Galway has a grave crisis

One third of Galway’s cemeteries need to be extended as they are almost full to capacity.

In fact the shortage of burial plots around the county was described as a crisis at Monday’s meeting of Galway County Council where members spent up to an hour discussing the difficulties of getting buried with your loved ones.

The situation is so grave in some parts that the Council is open to providing new cemeteries on greenfield sites when they cannot extend an existing one.

And while a number of councillors bemoaned not being able to be buried with their kin, Cllr Michael Fahy put it bluntly — “When you’re dead, you’re dead. Years ago families got buried together in the one plot whether they got on or not. But things are different now and people are looking for new burial sites and not wanting to be buried with their parents.”

Cllr James Charity, who can trace his ancestors back to the 1700s, most of them buried in Annaghdown, said other families wouldn’t have the same opportunity as there were only two plots left in that particular one.

He described as “simply absurd” that there were restrictions put on how some cemeteries, including Annaghdown, could be extended — up to one third of an acre, which was going to limit its future development. He wondered if there was some system where the Council would be looking ahead to ensure this shortage of plots didn’t happen.

Cathaoirleach, Cllr Mary Hoade, described the situation in Annaghdown as “a crisis point.”

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.