Mayo cemetery extension plan approved

A Part 8 planning application for an extension at Keelogues Graveyard has been approved.

The proposal includes a new entrance, access roadway, boundary treatment, internal footpaths and landscaping, along with new burial plots.

The cemetery committee have asked for support to protect heritage elements of the burial ground, including an old church gable wall which is starting to crumble due to damage from ivy.

Ivy is growing through the stones, expanding the wall, and one day it will collapse, Castlebar area councillors were told at a municipal district meeting.

Councillor Donna Sheridan said the extension is welcomed, but there were a few suggestions locally to make it better, including provision for a columbarium wall and upgrading the existing footpath network in the cemetery.

The work of voluntary cemetery committees around the county was acknowledged by elected representatives, with a call for increased council funding for their work.

* Published under the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme