Who owns graveyards

JDMC2

Who actually owns a catholic graveyard?
I know you buy your grave but who makes the rules?
If graves are full who buys new land etc?

TheBully

JDMC2 wrote: »

Who actually owns a catholic graveyard?
I know you buy your grave but who makes the rules?
If graves are full who buys new land etc?

The council, and you buy your plot from them

tuisginideach

DLRCoCo own Dean's Grange and Shanganagh. Kilternan is privately owned, as far as I know.

Peregrinus

Ownership varies. Glasnevin Cemetery is owned by the Dublin Cemeteries Committee, a not-for-profit trust which was established in 1832 (by Daniel O'Connell, no less) to provide burial grounds. They also own and operate Goldenbridge, Palmerstown, Dardistown and Newlands Cross Cemeteries.

Strictly speaking, you don't buy a grave in the sense of owning the little plot of land in question. What you buy is an exclusive right to use that particular plot for burial - the cemetery authority still owns the land, but they have sold you the exclusive right to allow burials there. This right may be perpetual (if you buy a plot in Glasnevin now, for instance, you get a perpetual right) or it may be for a stated period (when Glasnevin started operations, it was for just 10 years, but you could renew it). This means that the cemetery authority is still the landowner, and can make and enforce rules about maintenance of graves, the erection of headstones and monuments, etc.

Victor

Note on the language:
* Graveyard - a burial place located with a church or other religious building (other than small burial chapels).
* Cemetery - a burial place located without a church or other religious building (other than small burial chapels).

Most used to be owned by the Church of Ireland until it was disestablished in 1869. The Church of Ireland retains many of those.

After that point, many new ones are either privately-owned businesses (I think Mount Jerome is one of these) or council / joint burial trust owned.

Some minor religions / denominations have their own burial places or have sections within other burial places.

There is an obligation to properly dispose of human remains, which probably ultimately lies with the sanitary authority (council).

kneemos

Some cemeteries at least or maybe all have a committee and folk that do maintenance.
Dunno if this is voluntary or not,but they were taking donations for the cemetery committee at the local patron recently.