Plans for new cemetery at Dublin Road moving forward

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Plans for a long-awaited new cemetery at Dublin Road in the heart of the city are moving forward.

A meeting last night heard some concerns about the location – but councillors ultimately endorsed the project by a wide margin.

In 2019, then sitting councillors voted overwhelmingly in favour of the project amid a deepening crisis over lack of burial space.

The proposed site is 1.7ha in size and is located beside the Connacht Hotel.

The matter came up for discussion at a meeting of Galway City Council last night – and some concerns were voiced about the location.

Questions were raised over a range of issues – including access on what is a main city artery, car parking, and the use of recreational land currently in use as a sports pitch.

City CEO Brendan McGrath advised that while it’s fully within councillors powers to decide not to proceed, he outlined the enormous work that’s been done in recent years.

He said although 40 possible sites had been deemed feasible, further investigations ruled them out for various reasons, leaving just the Dublin Road site.

Ultimately, the matter went to a vote, with Councillors Collette Connolly and Alan Curran feeling it’s not the correct site and other options should be considered.

But 14 others gave the plan their support, which will allow it to continue to move forward to detailed design stage.