Works needed at church car parks across county

The issue of carrying out works at a number of church car parks was raised at the March meeting of the Roscommon Municipal District.

The issue was highlighted during a discussion on the MD’s road works scheme for 2026.

Independent councillor Michael Holland outlined that the car park outside Ballintubber Church, which was developed by Roscommon County Council about 25 years ago, had a lot of potholes and needed to be “surfaced badly”.

He said that local people had to fill in the potholes for a recent funeral.

After speaking to the parish priest and the parish council, Cllr Holland said it was hoped the car-park grounds would be signed over to the council.

Cllr Paschal Fitzmaurice (FF) pointed out that there were several places where lands were given by the church for car parks.

He said it was his understanding that in such cases, there was a documentation involved which stated the words “dedicated for public use”.

MD Co-ordinator Tom McDermott said when it came to the council taking charge in these situations, it was similar to the local authority taking over a road.

During the discussion, Cllr Marty McDermott (FF) highlighted the need for the Sacred Heart Church car park in Roscommon Town to be “re-marked.”

He said the lines were quite faded and the matter was raised with him by local people on numerous occasions.

CllrMcDermott did note that the car park was not a council asset so it wasn’t obliged to carry out this.

However, he asked if any solution could be found between the council and the church to address the matter.

*Published under the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme