Breaffy cemetery in Castlebar is almost full at present, however, in part of the cemetery at present it is almost impossible, in some cases, to open graves due to the huge boulders under the surface.
The problem was highlighted by Independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne at a recent meeting of Castlebar Municipal District.
He explained that there are graves in part of the cemetery, that can be opened to bury one member of a family, but when the grave needs to be opened to bury another family member, it can be impossible to open it. “It depends on the location of the grave”, he explained, “if it’s too close to the wall or another grave, then a machine is needed to deal with the huge boulders underground, but there is no access to bring in a machine”.
He told the meeting that experienced grave diggers have explained to him that it’s not possible to open such graves by hand.
He called on council management to address the issue, as he says heartbroken families have paid for graves that they now do not have access to.
Cllr Kilcoyne has been outlining the problem to Midwest News Editor Teresa O’Malley…
