'Disgraceful' - lack of access to this old Kildare graveyard

A Donadea, Kildare man has slammed as “disgraceful” the lack of access to Kilteel Graveyard in Co Kildare, where many of his relatives have been buried.

According to Jim Browne, the front gate to Kilteel Graveyard is seemingly permanently locked, with a sign alerting members of the public they should “enter at their own risk” due to the presence of a “bull.”

Jim's grandfather, uncles and other family members are buried in Kilteel Graveyard, and visits to the site have resulted in bitter disappointment, due to the locked graveyard gate.

Jim spoke to The Leinster Leader about the situation at the graveyard: “It's about 50 metres from the road, you just walk across a field to get into it, and Marian Finucane was the last person to be buried there as far as I know, so it's recently been operating.

“When you get to the gate, there's a lock on the gate and there's a sign saying if you go beyond this point it's at your own risk. There's another sign saying that there's a bull in the field and he's dangerous.”

Jim says he recently brought his grandchildren up to the graveyard to see where their forefathers are buried, but found the gates were locked. This is the second time in the past year when this has happened, he explains.

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Jim says he followed the matter up with Kildare County Council, but to no avail.

He then contacted the local parish priest, and explained about the sign alerting people to the presence of a bull, only to be jokingly told by the priest “I hope you're able to run fast enough!”

However, the matter is less than amusing for Jim, as he explains: “I went last year and couldn't get in, so I don't know how long it was going on before that. I went a week ago and it was the same thing. You can see where people have tried to break in, and the bolt is broken, but you can't get in. There's a very good fence along the road, so you can't get in that way either.

“I think it's a disgrace, and there must be a right-of-way going in there for hundreds of years. Now you can't walk across the field to get into it. It's only about 50 metres from the road, so it would be very easy to put a fence up and have a path going in.

“I feel very annoyed about it, to be honest with you.”

A statement issued by Kildare County Council simply stated: “Kildare County Council wishes to advise that the old graveyard in Kilteel is located within a privately owned field.”

According to a local landowner, Kilteel Graveyard is under the control of the Office of Public Works (OPW.)

However, a statement issued by the OPW read: “...It is understood that the Graveyard is in the ownership of Kildare County Council and any queries should be directed to that Local Authority.”