'Eco-graveyard' proposals for environmentally friendly resting place in Cork city 

A burial plot in the Woodbrook Natural Burial Ground in Wexford, marked with a tree. Picture: The Green Graveyard Company

Moves are underway in Cork to help those who live a ‘green life’ follow through in death.

City officials have agreed to meet with a group of people who are dying to see an ‘eco-graveyard’ established in the city.

While they are considering setting aside an area within one of the city's existing cemeteries for eco-burials, if the demand exists, the man who helped establish Ireland’s first natural burial ground said Cork needs to start planning for its own standalone eco-graveyard.

“One of five phone calls we get about funerals in our natural burial ground are from people living in Cork,” Colin McAteer said.

He established Woodbrook Memorial Burial Ground in Wexford in 2010 which is a graveyard with a second use - as a living, developing native Irish woodland and wildflower meadow.

Its plots, which cost €950, are marked, not by concrete surrounds or headstones, but by small simple markers and the planting of a native Irish tree, if requested. Some graves go unmarked.

And unlike traditional cemeteries where plots are laid out in a linear style, eco-graveyard plots are laid out irregularly, linked by winding grassy avenues.

Mr McAteer said its offers people a “tranquil burial ground” where relatives can sit, surrounded by nature, and remember their loved ones.

The cemetery caters for all religions and those without religion.

Green Party councillor Oliver Moran raised the eco-burial issue at this week's meeting of Cork City Council.

“I’m taken aback by the interest and support for the idea, even from people who wouldn't be natural environmentalists,” he said.

There’s a genuine interest that in death people would exist at peace with the world and nature. There's something really moving about that.

He said the support from City Hall is encouraging and he has asked for a meeting now between interested residents and officials to explore the idea further.

“If Cork was to develop its own, it would be the first local authority in Ireland to support the option,” he said. 

Blackpool resident, Mark Cronin, who would like to buried in this way, said it's becoming more of a feature in Britain and the USA. 

It reflects a growing awareness among people of the lasting damage being done to the environment and biodiversity by human activity.

Mr McAteer said they've facilitated around 150 burials but have seen phenomenal demand for plots since March, as Covid-19 focused the minds of many people on funeral arrangements.