Glantane graveyard ready for expansion as council buys land

A VILLAGE graveyard, filling up so rapidly that locals were being refused permission to buy plots in advance, is to be expanded following a decision by Cork County Council to purchase more land.

The decision brought a sense of relief in the north Cork village of Glantane, following news the local authority has agreed to buy an acre of land to extend the cemetery.

There were reportedly about 30 plots left.

Cllr John Paul O’Shea said: “The reality is that people couldn’t purchase plots there unless there was a bereavement.

“About three years ago the parish had to stop selling plots in advance because of the shortage of land at the cemetery. They were only made available in the event of a bereavement.

“This meant that people who were new to the area and wanted a family plot or people who wished to purchase a plot for the future couldn’t get one unless there was a bereavement.”

The new land will create almost 500 additional plots for the people of the area.

Prior to the purchase, Cllr O’ Shea raised concerns that if action wasn’t taken, the cemetery could reach full capacity in the coming months:

“This has been a concern for the community for a number of years because the graveyard was filling up — we’d got to a stage where there were only about 30 plots left, which is very little for a cemetery that caters for a large population of between 5,000 and 6,000 people.

“This is a very welcome development for the village of Glantane and I am delighted the Council was in the position to pursue this extension in such difficult economic circumstances.”

The cemetery caters for a large area including Glantane, Lombardstown, Dromahane, Gortroe, Laharn and surrounding hinterlands, he said.