OVERHANGING trees at St Eltin’s cemetery in Kinsale have been cut back by the council after complaints from people visiting loved ones’ graves were raised by councillors, writes Kieran O’Mahony.

At an earlier council, meeting councillors had been told that it would cost €15,000 to cut the 56 trees in total at the cemetery and that no funding was available at the time.

The update was provided after elected members told officials that some people visiting graves had been brought to tears due to the overhanging branches obstructing headstones and access.

However, at last week’s meeting of Bandon Kinsale Municipal District, senior executive engineer Richard Cahill confirmed that they have sourced funding.

He said a contractor carried out the felling last weekend ahead of the February 28th deadline.

Cllr Coughlan welcomed this. ‘I’ve never had so much feedback on this after I raised the motion in January. It’s about people visiting the graves of their loved ones,’ said Cllr Coughlan.

Cllr John Michael Foley (FG) thanked the council executive noting it will be a ‘tough old job’ to take the trees out of the cemetery.

‘It’s been very hard to maintain headstones with these overhanging trees and well done for getting the job done before March,’ said Cllr Foley, who had previously said that the trees also leave a green residue and enhanced lichen growth on the headstones and made the area very slippery when working there.