Wexford graveyard closed for four months without public consultation – ‘The one thing we have in this country is respect for our dead, and we should really continue to do that'
"I met 50 people down there and they're really, really angry – it's a very active graveyard, it's well-kept, it's very historic, so to be closing off the graves is really unsatisfactory.'
Accepting that heritage officer Colm Moriarty had been actively examining the graveyard, Cllr Murphy said any prospective improvement works were potentially '2-3 years away'.
'It's not acceptable to just close it off in the meantime,' he continued. 'The one thing we have in this country is respect for our dead and we should really continue to do that. This wouldn't have happened in New Ross, maybe because Templetown is down in the peninsula it's forgotten about.'
District manager Alan Fitzhenry was quick to point out that no disrespect was intended to any of the families in the area and that, ultimately, this had been a public safety issue.
'When something is falling off the top of a building and it's not safe we have to, as a local authority, take action,' he said. 'Unfortunately sometimes that doesn't allow for consultation, it needs to be reacted to quickly.'
He was supported by district engineer David Murphy who confirmed the graveyard had been closed for health and safety reasons and that he was meeting with Mr Moriarty in the coming days to review the situation.
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Wexford graveyard closed for four months without public consultation – ‘The one thing we have in this country is respect for our dead, and we should really continue to do that'
'It was closed at the end of February, early March, and there was no consultation with anyone,' he said at the July meeting of the New Ross Municipal District (NRMD). 'This has caused a lot of distress to the families there. There was hope a fence would be put up around the church to make it safe for Patron Sunday, but the fence didn't go up until the Monday morning. "I met 50 people down there and they're really, really angry – it's a very active graveyard, it's well-kept, it's very historic, so to be closing off the graves is really unsatisfactory.' Accepting that heritage officer Colm Moriarty had been actively examining the graveyard, Cllr Murphy said any prospective improvement works were potentially '2-3 years away'. 'It's not acceptable to just close it off in the meantime,' he continued. 'The one thing we have in this country is respect for our dead and we should really continue to do that. This wouldn't have happened in New Ross, maybe because Templetown is down in the peninsula it's forgotten about.' District manager Alan Fitzhenry was quick to point out that no disrespect was intended to any of the families in the area and that, ultimately, this had been a public safety issue. 'When something is falling off the top of a building and it's not safe we have to, as a local authority, take action,' he said. 'Unfortunately sometimes that doesn't allow for consultation, it needs to be reacted to quickly.' He was supported by district engineer David Murphy who confirmed the graveyard had been closed for health and safety reasons and that he was meeting with Mr Moriarty in the coming days to review the situation.
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