POORLY maintained paths have prevented a Beara resident from visiting his parents’ grave on the anniversary of their deaths for 20 years.
Allihies native Mark Harrington has cerebral palsy and is a full-time wheelchair user, but is able to move independently with his powerchair.
Unfortunately, this independence doesn’t extend to Cluín cemetery in Allihies due to the state of the footpaths.
“You can hardly tell the path from the plots at the moment,” said Claire, Mark’s sister.
“They’re very stony, they’re unsteady and they’re all overgrown now with weeds.”
In the summer Mark can access the graveyard by driving over the unused plots which are “actually [more level] than the so-called path”.
However, with his parents’ anniversary in November, the ground is often too soft and he is forced to look in over the wall while the others go to the grave.
“It’s not right,” said Mark. “There should be a footpath all the way around the graveyard.”
Claire explained there have been difficulties accessing the graveyard as far back as 2005, when their mother passed away.
She said when their father passed away in 2022, also in November, they had to ask people outside the family to help Mark reach the grave as they were carrying the coffin.
“The old graveyard, you can’t even attempt to get in there with a wheelchair,” said Claire.
She added that visiting a loved one’s grave is “a basic human right”, and stressed that this affects the whole community. “I know several other people have been on to the council to do something with them as well,” she added.
It was the first thing Mark raised with Cllr Finbarr Harrington (Ind) when he came canvassing to their back door.
Cllr Harrington brought Mark’s concerns to Cork County Council at a meeting of the West Cork Municipal District last month. He said that everyone, regardless of their mobility, should have the ability to visit the grave of a loved one.
He proposed that the council ringfence additional funding and implement a multi-year plan to tarmac paths and access routes in graveyards across the county.
Like Mark and Claire, Cllr Harrington pointed out that this would also benefit the elderly and those who find the uneven paths challenging.
In response, Eimear O’Neill, the council’s municipal district officer, said that the local authority recognises the importance of maintaining burial grounds under its responsibility and of ensuring that they are accessible, where possible, to all members of the community.
She said the request for additional funding for upgrading paths will be considered in the context of the MD’s available funding and future budgetary provisions but said the works are carried out in accordance with the schedule agreed with the elected members as part of the Town Enhancement Plans.
In a statement to The Southern Star Cork County Council said: “The new part of Cluin Cemetery has been constructed with concrete footpaths and is fully wheelchair accessible. The older part of the cemetery is not a lawn cemetery and unfortunately is not wheelchair accessible. The entrance to the cemetery is in need of reshaping and resurfacing and this will be looked at in future years within the context of available budgets.”
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
