Plans are underway for the creation of a rose garden for the burial of cremated ashes in Kilcrumper New Cemetery, Fermoy.

Motions were previously made by local county councillor Kevin O’Keeffe in 2012 and 2014 for a special burial plot in county Cork cemeteries, which could be offered at a cheaper rate than for a coffin burial.

This month the environment section of Cork County Council said that they do not see any particular environmental issues about the proposals.

At March’s council meeting of Fermoy Municipal District, Pauline Moriarty said she is aware that a columbarium – a wall for the storage of urns within a cemetery – is in place in Chetwynd, Togher.

She confirmed that she will ask for the environment section ‘to liaise with the appropriate engineer in charge of this cemetery with a view to preparing a report on the matter’.

This week Cllr O’Keeffe expressed his satisfaction that his proposal is being progressed.

“The good news is they are going ahead with it, but the timescale I don’t know about yet. They will have to come up with figures for an individual’s ashes to be brought back and buried.

“A single grave in Kilcrumper is €650 and a double grave is €1,000. The point I’m making is, tomorrow morning if I’m cremated and my family want to bring me back to Fermoy, they’d have to pay the €650. But if a rose garden was set up, the charge – I would hope – would be €100 or less.”

A recent survey in Kilcrumper New Cemetery found that some of the land is not fit for use, as rock has been identified too close to the surface. Cllr O’Keeffe said this section would be ring-fenced for urns and ashes.

“At least now with this in Kilcrumper it will start the trend in North Cork that people can have their urns brought back at the minimum fee of around €100. Rather than having a grave that is two and a half foot by eight foot, these might just be two foot by two, or one and a half, for an urn, so it wouldn’t cost as much.

“I’m delighted that we’re making progress on the matter,” added Cllr O’Keeffe.

A recent article featured in The Avondhu highlighted the rise in cremation in the local area in the last number of years.

Further research has found that St James’s in Chetwynd, Togher offers sale of niches in their columbarium at a charge far less than a burial plot. Space for two inurnments in the columbarium costs €800, while space for four inurnments is charged at €1,340.

In contrast, a burial plot sought in advance costs €1,820, and an immediate grave costs €1,385, with additional costs such as grave digging to be factored in.

As a national example, the cost of two new graves in Mount Jerome, Dublin begins at €4,300, with an extra €890 for grave digging fees. The burial of cremation ashes costs €260, while a space in the columbarium walls begins at €1,100.

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