By Sabrina Sweeney
UNTIL a person is directly affected by death and the need to bury a loved one, discussions around planning for burial space in the future can feel rather abstract.
Let’s face it, it’s not a conversation many of us want to have and it may also feel like less of a priority when compared to other community needs.
But death comes to us all and a failure to plan for this eventuality can lead to many problems for families and their wider communities.
Ensuring there are adequate graveyards is an issue faced by Donegal County Council and religious institutions throughout the county but in Letterkenny the challenges are stark.
As Donegal’s largest town, Letterkenny has experienced significant population growth over the past two decades. In 2002, its population was recorded at 15,231. By the 2022 Census that number had risen to 22,549 marking an increase of approximately 48 per cent over 20 years.
Leck Graveyard overlooks the town of Letterkenny.
Over the past decade, from 2012–2022, the town has seen a growth rate of around 15 per cent with a growing number of residents coming from diverse ethnic and national backgrounds.
As more people choose to live in the town the pressure on existing cemeteries has increased. The two main burial grounds, Conwal and Leck cemeteries, are close to full capacity and projections are that they could reach their limit within eight years.
This is not a new problem for Letterkenny; historically, the challenges of securing sufficient burial space has been a recurring issue over the years when it has been linked to changing community needs as well as population growth.
There have also been problems with finding suitable sites and securing funding. But certainly the town’s ever-expanding population is making the situation a critical one and there is now, more than ever, an increasing urgency to find a solution.
At the end of 2023, €670,000 was secured from the council budget for the planning and development of a new civic burial ground with €170,000 being spent this year, and €250,000 in both 2025 and 2026.
Local councillors have proposed that communities and stakeholders come together to collaborate on finding a strategy that works for all and the council says it has been working with a number of stakeholders to that end, including the Inter-Church Group on Community Graveyard Provision in Donegal, the Black and Ethnic Minority Group, the Intercultural Platform and other Non-Denominational Groups.
Cllr Ciaran Brogan ensured that the discussion on the graveyards issue in Letterkenny was back on the council agenda recently.
Meanwhile, at the recent November meeting of the Letterkenny-Milford Municipal District Council, Cllr Ciaran Brogan’s motion to hold a workshop to discuss the possibility of establishing a new cemetery in the Letterkenny area was supported, with a date to be agreed between councillors.
There are both long-standing and new concerns that will have to be addressed in an empathetic fashion. Due to the town’s growing and increasingly diverse population, there is an urgent need for multi-denominational and non-religious burial spaces.
While discussions have taken place to identify a suitable site with a focus on accommodating various religious and cultural needs, there has been some resistance from those who are worried about changes in the traditional religious character of such places. Any discussions around this issue will have to stress the importance of inclusive burial options that consider the evolving needs of communities while also acknowledging the sensitivities that exist among those who wish to preserve tradition and are apprehensive about changes to the historical, religious or spiritual character of such burial grounds.
Aside from the faith considerations there are also those who oppose dedicating more land to cemeteries when there are needs around housing and environmental conservation.
Clearly, work is ongoing to address the shortage of burial grounds but without a clear plan for the future there is growing discontent that the council is not addressing the issue with the clarity and immediacy it warrants.
Talking about where and how we bury loved ones is not an easy discussion and compromises will be necessary. But encouraging engagement from communities as well as ensuring transparent communication will allow people to feel part of a subject that is relevant to us all.
Sabrina Sweeney’s Fresh Take column is carried every week in the Thursday edition of the Donegal News.
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