Coffins exposed as graveyard wall collapses

COFFINS are sticking out the side of a well-known Dublin graveyard after the weather conditions hitting the capital led to the property’s main wall collapsing.

The high winds and torrential rain that battered the city throughout Sunday and Monday resulted in the discovery yesterday at St Mary’s Abbey, which stands just above the Harbour Road in the north Dublin district of Howth.

Locals reported hearing a loud noise at about 9pm on Monday as the conditions outside worsened.

When they checked on the damage the following morning, onlookers real-ised the sound had been caused by the graveyard wall collapsing — and they were faced with two coffins exposed by the heavy rains.

Keelin Murphy, who owns the Pangaea day spa in nearby Sutton, said that the lid on one of the coffins had been opened by the force of the weather.

She added that some of the gravestones had also subsided.

As the ancient graveyard is situated just above a lower-level apartment block, officials from Fingal County Council evacuated 12 apartments nearby due to “the public safety risk of further earth collapse”.

Owners of four shops in the area have been told to close their businesses for safety reasons until further notice, while hotel accommodation will be provided for anyone who does not have another place to stay.

A spokesperson for the local authority told the Irish Examiner the council’s personnel went to the scene “as a matter of urgency” after being alerted to the “site risks”.

She added that the officials’ “first priority is to make the site safe and to cordon off the area taking into account difficult local access”.

The Dodder, Poddle and Camac rivers burst their banks in areas of Dublin, forcing local residents to abandon their homes, as a major emergency was declared in the capital.

Cases were postponed at the Courts of Criminal Justice in Parkgate Street after floodwater damage cut out power.