Roscommon cemetery approved as location for county’s first ever columbarium wall

Roscommon town cemetery has been approved as the location for the county’s first ever columbarium wall.

A columbarium consists of a wall with designated niches into which urns containing the cremated remains of loved ones can be placed.

At Monday’s meeting of Roscommon Municipal District, councillors gave the go-ahead for the construction of this storage wall and a reflection area at St. Coman's cemetery in the county town.

Outlining the plans to the councillors at the MD meeting, council engineer John explained that eight granite columbarium wall units would be built.

The units are pre-formed with niches or cubicles that have a lockable door, and each niche can accommodate two urns. Each niche in the columbarium can be personalised to the wishes of the deceased as well as his or her surviving family.

The development will include a reflection area of granite paving and silver chip coated asphalt with granite benches, as well as low maintenance evergreen low-level hedging surrounding the walls and reflection area.

The columbarium will be located within the new graveyard area, approximately 150 metres from the front entrance main gate, east of the main access roadway.

It is hoped that the works will be completed this year and councillors were assured these works would be respectful and not impact on burials taking place.

Welcomed by councillors, the columbarium will provide an alternative option to burials plots for interment of cremated remains, which is becoming increasingly common in Ireland.

It will be the first of its kind in County Roscommon though there are plans for further developments across the county.