GRAVEYARD SEARCH
A North Sligo community’s efforts to find a replacement for the full Ahamlish Cemtery has literally reached a dead end.
It’s left Sligo County Council once again appealing to landowners in the Grange area to come forward with land suitable for a new graveyard.
Director of Services and Grange native Tom Kilfeather said the search for a new site over the past eight years has yielded little success and while alternative avenues are being examined, he would once again appeal to local landowners to come forward to either himself or Parish Priest Fr Christy McHugh if they feel their land might be suitable for a new graveyard.
In 2001 Sligo County Council purchased “Lang’s Hill” in Grange for community development. It was intended under a local plan for Grange, that a new road would be constructed at the back of the existing streetscape to facilitate access to the hill. The development would have facilitated the possible development of a new community centre as well as a new graveyard, as at the time Ahamlish graveyard was reaching capacity.
“However, it was felt that it was not a good site for the graveyard by locals. There was not a great deal of excitement about the proposals. I can’t see that it will ever be developed,” said Mr Kilfeather.
As a local, Mr Kilfeather has taken a personal interest in securing a new graveyard for the community.
For many years the Council had sought through engagement with one landowner to extend the burial ground at Ahamlish; however the landowner was not willing to dispose of any further lands to the Council.
In 2012 a site almost immediately adjacent to the graveyard was considered. However it was not considered suitable by the National Monuments Section of the Department of the Environment.
Shortly afterwards another site was considered a mile from the village of Grange, but was deemed unsuitable due to narrow access roads.
Again in 2012 trial holes were dug in a field a few miles from Ahamlish, but the landowner wished to sell their entire holding, which was greatly in excess of the council’s requirement.
In early 2015 the council approached a landowner about the possibility of acquiring their land for the graveyard, but the landowner did not wish to take it any further.
In late 2015 Mr Kilfeather put a notice in the parish newsletter appealing for landowners with suitable land to come forward and two people did. The first did not have the capacity required for the graveyard and Mr Kilfeather said circumstances at that time meant it was not possible to deal with the second landowner.
“Identifying a location which will satisfy ground requirements and also provide a reasonable solution to servicing, what is a very large area of the county in a central location, is proving difficult,” said Mr Kilfeather adding that interested parties should contact himself or Fr Christy directly.
In the meantime the Council is considering alternatives to increase the capacity at the already full Ahamlish graveyard.
Ground Penetrating Radar ( GPR) provides a non- intrusive solution to determining position and extent of burial within a specific survey area. Unmarked graves, misplaced headstones and vague/ incomplete records are a feature of many older burial grounds. Quite often the uncertainty arising from such issues, particularly given the sensitivity around excavating such lands, will result in the underutilisation of parts or sections of burial grounds.
The Council is going to progress the use of GPR for surveying a number of burial grounds ( particularly older ones) to identify possible vacant areas that might facilitate further plots.
“The Burial grounds to be surveyed will include Rosses Point and Ahamlish. We hope to gett th these worksk undertakend t k over the coming months and if they were able to deliver even a small number of unused plots particularly in grounds deemed to be at capacity such as Ahamlish, Court Abbey and Rosses Point then it would be beneficial for at least the short term,” said Mr Kilfeather.
Another proposal the Council is considering in general terms and not specifically to address issues in Ahamlish and Rosses Point is the possible installation of Columbariums to provide for the respectful storage of cinerary urns.
“Initially we are going to consider this for Sligo Cemetery but in the longer term it may be an option for other parts of the county,” said Mr Kilfeather.