Groundwater problems in St Finian's cemetery

Dear Sir - Allow me to add my voice to the calls for a wider probe into the shameful conditions that pertain at Saint Finian"s Cemetery, Athboy Road, Navan. Town councillor Christy Reilly is quite right to demand a full investigation as to who knows what about when this ground was selected as a burial ground. At the time of its inception, the draft plan for the area had to be changed to accommodate the lands use as a graveyard. All councillors at the time had to have voted on the change. Also of note here is that a public notice at the time states clearly that pathways and lighting was supposed to be provided from the town to this cemetery, and that was eight years ago. All concerned with placing a burial ground on this parcel of 'wet" land should rightly hang their head in shame. Is this good enough for the ever-increasing population of Navan? While attending a burial there last September, I was disgusted to find it acceptable to all concerned (clergy and funeral directors) that the dear departing soul was being placed in nothing short of a 'swamp". I immediately contacted to council with a written complaint. My letters were ignored by the council until I made contact with the Ombudsman. They are investigating my complaint presently. The present 'cosmetic exercise" there will do nothing whatsoever to console those relatives who were left with no option other than to have their dear departed buried in a 'swamp". In your article, no mention was made of pollution or contamination of groundwater. Would the county planning staff allow permission for a septic tank here? I think not. No drainage work will be carried out simply because there is nowhere to drain to. Presently the graves can only be dug to a depth of four feet, which is against statutory guidelines laid down by the Department of the Environment. The grave-digging can only commence as the hearse is about to leave the church following the funeral service. The straw/hay placed in the base of the grave is purely a camouflage exercise to distract from the volume of water seeping in which, in my opinion, contravences the laws of grave depths. Let"s call a spade a spade. It is now the council"s responsibility to prove a burial place. The onus is no longer with the Church to provide a graveyard. This is an inter-dominational graveyard, which makes the excuses we read about this burial ground in your last edition all the more harrowing. Whatever happened to the shepherd looking after his flock? This is not meant to amplify the sadness surrounding a burial but is written in disgust at what is going on in this cemetery. Close this graveyard now and don"t compound the problem with lame excuses. Yours sincerely, Andrew Ennis, Hanlonstown, Navan.