Hearses unable to access to Wexford graveyard as road collapses due to repeated flooding

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

Funeral directors in Co Wexford are unable to drive their hearses into a graveyard due to an adjoining road which has collapsed completely. The junction beside Kilgarvan Graveyard, which is located in the New Ross district, has become so damaged by repeated flooding events that it is now inaccessible for funeral directors bringing coffins to the cemetery.

Pleading with Wexford County Council (WCC) to repair the junction, Councillor Pat Barden said people who have passed away are being prevented from making their final journey to the graveyard with dignity.

“That junction was supposed to be done 6-7 years ago, people who are literally going to their graves can’t get in there; there’s clay coming up through the road,” he said at the June meeting of WCC. “I’ve had to go back to the committee and tell them the work is not going to be done and to say I was lambasted was an understatement.”

The junction in Kilgarvan was one of the many roads in Co Wexford which bore the brunt of Storm Chandra and its after-effects in January, and, while no emergency funding from central government for roads repairs has yet been announced, director of services Eamonn Hore said he was “more confident now” that this money was forthcoming.

“I want a guarantee it will be done,” insisted Cllr Barden. “It’s an absolute shame when you see John Ryan (funeral director) pull up outside a graveyard and he can’t get into it. It’s no exaggeration to say that when you have a serious fall of rain you can’t get in there.”

With no guarantees forthcoming, Cllr Barden picked up the baton again at the New Ross Municipal District (NRMD) meeting two days later, this time appealing to area engineer David Murphy to tackle the junction.

“It’s absolutely crucial this road is repaired,” he said. “I need some guarantee that the junction will be done and the hearses will be able to enter the graveyard.”

However, as Mr Hore had previously said, there are no guarantees when it comes to carrying out road repairs in a county where funding is permanently stretched.

“We can carry out patching there,” said Mr Murphy. “And if additional monies come I can look at resurfacing.”