Too High Gravestone in Kilcully Cemetery

JP Liz · 29-08-2008 10:30am #1

Source The Examiner

A FORMER lord mayor of Cork is to ask the city council to cap the height and width of headstones used in graveyards.

Councillor Joe O’Callaghan is to put forward a motion at the next meeting of Cork City Council, after a 15.5ft high, 20ft wide gravestone was erected at Kilcully Cemetery, on the northside of the city.

“It dwarfs everything else in the graveyard by a mile and it is completely out of character with what is recognised as a showpiece graveyard,” the Fine Gael Cllr said.

The gravestone is so big that it required the use of a crane and scaffolding to put it in place.

It was erected at Kilcully Cemetery three days ago.

Mr O’Callaghan said he was informed the headstone cost nearly €50,000.

“I can understand that families would want to honour their loved ones and put up a nice headstone to remember them, but this is simply too large and there are health and safety implications,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

He said he inspected the headstone and was concerned that it had been put on a plinth “of quite modest proportions.”

“Kilcully is a quite open graveyard and it can get very windy up there. This is a massive monument and I’d be worried that it could topple over if there was a severe wind,” the councillor said.

He added that he had asked the city council to send out engineers to check the stability of the headstone.

“I know there were a lot of other people who made calls to the city council on this matter,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

He will urge the city council to introduce new byelaws which will provide a limit on the size of headstones. “If we don’t do something we will have people outdoing each other, and who knows where that will end.”

castie · 29-08-2008 1:12pm

Heard this on the radio. Apparently they even damaged several other grave stones putting it in. It disgusts me the lack of respect that has been shown with the installation of this. Fair enough you want a big tribute to someone you loved but causing damage to another person's loved one's grave is dispictable.

invincibleirish · 29-08-2008 5:36pm

Gravestones say more about the people who erect them rather then the people they commemorate.

In this cause the memorial is in exceptionally poor taste and appears to reflect personal vanity more then anything else on behalf of the family involved, of course they had to make everyone aware of how much it cost:rolleyes:.

byhookorbycrook · 30-08-2008 4:14pm

major danger is that it will fall over!

MunsterCycling · 30-08-2008 6:33pm

Should be removed and the company who was involved in putting it in made pay for the repair of the damaged headstones, just shows how lacking the city council is in local laws and foresight. Disgusting

MC

BanzaiBk · 30-08-2008 7:28pm

I saw this in person today after visiting my granda's grave. It's unbelievably huge and gaudy. There isn't actual words to describe how oversized and out of place it is in Kilcully. I'm well aware of the heartache berevement is, but this is not grief. It's crazy.

MunsterCycling · 30-08-2008 8:52pm

Could you post up a picture for us all to see as this is unbelievable?

MC

BanzaiBk · 30-08-2008 8:59pm

It was either on the front of the Echo today or yesterday, I don't normally take photos in graveyards.

MunsterCycling · 30-08-2008 9:00pm

Well neither do I but haven't got the rag that is the Echo so was just wondering...

MC

Kold · 30-08-2008 9:16pm

Yeah, anyone able to upload a pic?

MunsterCycling · 30-08-2008 9:17pm

Kristopherus be very very careful with comments like that, it disgusting no matter who had it erected.

Kristopherus · 30-08-2008 9:22pm

MunsterCycling wrote: »

Kristopherus be very very careful with comments like that, it disgusting no matter who had it erected.

Keep in mind that your and my taxes contributed to the cost.

MunsterCycling · 30-08-2008 9:30pm

LOL that may be so but all the same... Who says I pay taxes, Taxes what are they?

JP Liz · 31-08-2008 12:19am

The family (who had the gravestone erected) are members of the travelling community not that it matters

parsi · 31-08-2008 5:56pm

MunsterCycling wrote: »

just shows how lacking the city council is in local laws and foresight. Disgusting

MC

That's a fairly silly comment.

Do you expect the council to legislate for every possible type of gravestone ?

Is it all to be decided based on the "taste" of a certain class of people ?

I've seen some of these ostentatious graves and they would not be my cup of tea ( those rosary beads where each bead is the size of a football drive me spare) but I feel that there is a bit of snobbery going on in this dispute.

Chase after them for damage caused (if this is the case) and structural soundness but don't go imposing "taste".

MunsterCycling · 31-08-2008 6:44pm

The city council should have legislated long ago on the size of headstones that can be used in their graveyards, its just that they are so slow to do anything and have abdicated their duties to the city manager who is committed to destroying the city with high rise monstrosities.

And to finish, no they draw up loose guidelines which only limit a gravestones width and height, what you want to put on it is your own business (of course once there are no lights etc... lol)

MC

PS I expect my city council to work for their expenses not moan about what they should have done.

flo8s967qjh0nd · 01-09-2008 11:33am

Here's and image of said gravestone.
It is horrible, tasteless vulgar, etc. but I have to feel a bit sorry for the family concerned. They clearly did think they were doing a good thing.

MunsterCycling · 01-09-2008 11:38am

Liana Freezing Stitch wrote: »

Here's and image of said gravestone.
It is horrible, tasteless vulgar, etc. but I have to feel a bit sorry for the family concerned. They clearly did think they were doing a good thing.

Yes let us not lose sight of the reason a gravestone was erected in the first place, the death of a loved one.

Now this only adds further to my point that the council should have got off their lazy asses and legislated long ago.

MC

Kold · 01-09-2008 12:06pm

:eek: All Pope John Paul had was a slab on the ground!

MunsterCycling · 01-09-2008 12:36pm

John Paul come in for your dinner....

JP or JP II?

craichoe · 01-09-2008 12:38pm

Ughh ... Theres lots of these around, I've seen two in Cemetarys in Tipperary.

<snip> less of the racial comments please

MunsterCycling · 01-09-2008 12:40pm

Just again parsi this is not something the city council wouldn't have known could happen yet did nothing to prevent it.

MC

Kold · 01-09-2008 12:44pm

Well in fairness to them, I want to be taxidermied suplexing a grizzly bear. I think my monument would be far more awesome.

MunsterCycling · 01-09-2008 12:49pm

And then we could take pot shots at the bear... LOL

parsi · 01-09-2008 1:27pm

MunsterCycling wrote: »

Just again parsi this is not something the city council wouldn't have known could happen yet did nothing to prevent it.

MC

It offends taste alright but what is inherently wrong with it ?

What grounds could it be legislated against ? I'd love to see the Councillors come up with an agreed set of dimensions - there are plenty of tall ones out there, there are plenty that span multiple plots (paid for)...

Can you imagine the furore caused if PP was necessary for headstones ? All our dear Councillors (who voted for the proposal) would trot out and say that the council should show sensitivity in the situation what with it being a sad time yadda yadda yadda....

Another solution would be a council supplied standard headstone - there would be more moaning about that.

You can be sure that when a Councillor starts protesting there is something else involved...

MunsterCycling · 01-09-2008 2:17pm

Umm would you have any of them ah brown coloured bags there now would ya? Its for me.... sandwiches yeah me sandwiches!

MC

JP Liz · 05-09-2008 2:30pm

Liana Freezing Stitch wrote: »

Here's and image of said gravestone.
It is horrible, tasteless vulgar, etc. but I have to feel a bit sorry for the family concerned. They clearly did think they were doing a good thing.

You know you are talking about a gravestone? How can any be vulgar?

I wonder if said headstone wasnt belonging to a member of the travelling community would there be as much fuss

Kold · 05-09-2008 3:54pm

JP Liz wrote: »

You know you are talking about a gravestone? How can any be vulgar?

By being big and garish and absolutely devoid of taste?

simu · 05-09-2008 11:41pm

In the Examiner, they said there was a danger of it being toppled over by strong winds afair.

Or maybe it's a bold architectural step to new, Las Vegas-style gravestones. o_O

JP Liz · 15-09-2008 2:26pm

Is it still up or has it been taken down?

Fysh · 15-09-2008 2:56pm

It's pretty gaudy imo, but what surprises me is that it looks more like a shrine than anything else. I would have thought the council had restrictions or at the very least guidelines concerning how big a gravestone can be.

Must admit the comments about whether they're travellers or not are a bit odd, surely it's irrelevant who put up the gravestone?

Too High Gravestone in Kilcully Cemetery

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