TIME is running out for people who want to be buried in places like Kilcrohane, Glengarriff, Skibbereen and Schull, according to public representatives.
The lack of available space in West Cork burial grounds was raised by the county mayor, Cllr Danny Collins, (Ind) at a meeting of the West Cork Municipal District in Skibbereen.
The urgency of the situation, and the level of worry for locals, was also highlighted by Cllr Caroline Cronin (FG) who said there are only three graves left in Schull.
‘Once those graves are gone,’ she said, ‘I don’t know what is going to happen.’
It was Cllr Collins who tabled a motion which reminded council officials of a similar motion tabled in 2021 calling for the extension of the graveyard in Kilcrohane.
‘The plots are running out,’ he said, ‘and people are very worried.’
Cllr Collins said people who have lived there all their lives need to acquire burial plots, but so too do the countless number of people who have relocated to the Sheep’s Head Peninsula. ‘When we run out,’ he asked council officials, ‘where are people going to be buried?’
Cllr Ross O’Connell (SD) said he recalled supporting the same motion in 2021. He reminded officials that the Sheep’s Head Peninsula covers a huge area and it is ‘gaining population’ all the time.
Senior executive officer, MacDara O h-Icí, said the Council is still trying to source land in Kilcrohane and Glengarriff, but they are working on possible land solutions for Skibbereen and Schull.
Calling for a more urgent response, Cllr Collins said: ‘We need to be able to provide people with peace of mind’ while Cllr Karen Coakley (Ind) asked for an up-to-date report to be made available to the public representatives at the next Municipal District meeting.
