By Chris Ashmore
DO you have land that could be suitable for use as a municipal graveyard in Letterkenny?
That’s the question that will be posed by Donegal County Council in the coming weeks as it seeks expressions of interest from landowners in and around the county’s biggest town.
In the Letterkenny area, there is a growing need for a new graveyard.
The town’s population has soared over the past two decades, and it has been estimated that the two main Christian burial grounds in Letterkenny, at Leck and Conwal, could be at full capacity within the next six or seven years.
Furthermore, there has been a growing number of people in the area who are from different religious faiths and it has been recognised that there is now a increasing need for the provision of a new graveyard that would serve people from non-denominational and multi-denominational backgrounds as well as those of a Christian faith.
Back in 2020, the local authority undertook what was described as being a “significant survey of graveyard provision and capacity” in the county.
The need for a new graveyard in Letterkenny has surfaced on a number of occasions since.
Indeed, the matter was raised last July by the then Cathaoirleach of Letterkenny-Milford Municipal District Council, Kevin Bradley.
In November 2024, it was reported the Council is to spend €670,000 over the next three years on planning and developing a non-denominational graveyard for the town.
This week, the issue was raised once more, this time by Cllr. Ciaran Brogan, who asked Donegal Co. Council for an updated report regarding the provision of graveyards in the county.
In response, he was told that the Council has been “actively considering the provision of a new burial ground” and has been working with a number of stakeholders, including the Inter-Church Group on Community Graveyard Provision in Donegal, The Black and Ethnic Minority Group, The Intercultural Platform, and non-denominational groups.
According to Michael McGarvey, one of the Council’s senior management team, “this engagement has allowed the Council to gain a wider understanding of the requirements for multi-denominational burial arrangements in Donegal. The initial focus has been on the area of greatest need, namely the greater Letterkenny area, which has the largest population and the greatest cultural diversity.”
It has now emerged that the Council has already considered potential sites that it owned in the greater Letterkenny area, but none of them were deemed to be suitable.
He continued: “The Council will be seeking an expression of interest in the coming weeks for landowners in the greater Letterkenny and environs area for the purchase of lands that are suitable for the development of a municipal (i.e council owned and run) cemetery.”
A number of factors will determine the suitability of a site.
These will include location, accessibility, any environmental impact, the topography, and geology.
If a site is selected (and purchased) the process will then see scoping, preliminary design, public consultation, environmental assessment and planning, and finally construction.
Mr. McGarvey also stated: “This approach will be considered as a potential model for the rest of the county.”
Speaking to the Donegal News, Cllr. Brogan welcomed the progression of matters and said that it will be interesting to see what the response is to the Council’s request for expressions of interest.
The Council has engaged with all other local authorities nationally regarding their models in burial ground provision and management.
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