Families upset over grave rules

Dublin People 20 Aug 2011
Families upset over grave rules

HUNDREDS of people whose
loved ones are buried in a cemetery on the Southside have reacted angrily to
demands that they remove personal items they have placed on graves.

South Dublin County Council
has written to over 300 locals whose relatives and loved ones are buried in
plots at Bohernabreena Cemetery, near Tallaght, demanding that they remove any
personal items or mementos placed on the graves within six weeks.

The letters have sparked
outrage among locals, many of whom have been tending to the grave plots for
several years.

Anxious relatives have
launched two petitions, which have collected in excess of 1,500 signatures
between them, in an attempt to force the council to reverse the demand.

Letters sent by the local
authority to the owners of the plots stated that since they were constructed in
2004, new sections of the cemetery were designed as a

“lawn cemetery

?.

“This means that apart from
an appropriate headstone there are no other permanent or semi permanent
structures or items of mourning, for example, candles, flowers, ornaments etc
permitted,

? the letter states.

“Unfortunately this policy has not been observed
and a lack of control has emerged.

It adds:

“South Dublin
County Council kindly requests the owners of grave plots or their executors to
remove the items and structures from the lawn section. South Dublin County
Council must… insist that all items must be removed from the lawn cemetery
within six weeks of this letter.

Emma Griffiths (22), from
Jobstown, buried her stillborn baby boy just 10 months ago at the cemetery. She
told Southside People that she was shocked and angered by the letter.

“We never got a chance to
buy him anything,

? she explained.

“So buying stuff for his grave is the only
thing that brings us comfort and are the only things that we get to buy for
him. We have put flowers on the grave.

“His cousins make stuff in
school and we put it on his grave. We have a love heart and a plaque that we
bought him for Christmas and we have little ornaments and solar lights. At
night it looks beautiful when it is lit up. We have other things from the rest of
the family like ornaments and flowers and candles.

“I received the letter from
the council when it was his 10-month anniversary. I got the letter that
morning. I just read it and was in shock. I said to myself:

‘They can’t really
do this’.

Emma insisted that the
council never previously informed her that she was not allowed to place any
personal items on the grave.

“The morning I went down to
pay for that plot they never told me that it was a lawn cemetery,

? she
stated.

“They never did anything for the
first 10 months and now they are sending out letters saying we are not even
allowed put flowers on the grave.

Laura Reilly, whose son
Stephen is buried at the cemetery, has also started a petition that has been
signed by over 500 people.

The online petition, which
she handed into the local authority last week, calls on the council to scrap
the rules.

It also urges the council to
allow the owners of the graves to tend to the plots themselves.

“There is uproar over this,

? she declared.

“Since they got these letters people are going up two and three times a day to
check that everything is all right. People want to camp out and another girl
said she was going to go on hunger strike. A lot of people are just so emotional
at the moment.

She added:

“We only want the
right to maintain our own graves.

Deputy Sean Crowe (SF) said
the letters had been deeply distressing for many families who were already
suffering as a result of the loss of their loved ones.

“The graves have been
maintained by family members for years,

? he said.

“Many of them do not want
council officials or strangers interfering with the graves.

“The council needs to
withdraw the letters immediately and come up with creative solutions that would
include allowing families to maintain their loved ones’ graves.

A spokesperson for South
Dublin County Council said:

“Over time, people have started to leave items at
the graves and while these items mean a great deal to them, other bereaved
persons deliberately chose a lawn cemetery and find this practice upsetting.

“While the council is
sympathetic to how families feel, we have a responsibility to act in the
interests of all the bereaved families and implement the policy that has been
in place since the lawn cemetery opened.

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