by Alan Jacques
THE spirit of volunteerism which exists amongst burial ground committees throughout County Limerick was acknowledged by Mayor of Limerick City and County, Cllr Kevin Sheahan.
The Fianna Fail representative was speaking at the 2014 County Limerick Burial Grounds Awards, held in The Woodlands House Hotel in Adare last Thursday when burial grounds in Castlejane, Knocklong and Kilcoleman, Rathkeale were named overall winners at the ceremony.
Mayor Sheahan, congratulated participants for their efforts to maintain burial grounds throughout the County during the year. He particularly acknowledged the spirit of volunteerism which exists amongst burial ground committees throughout County Limerick.
“The Council’s Environment Section, which manages the County’s graveyards, depends very heavily on the combined hard work and commitment of community groups and individuals for the upkeep and maintenance of the County’s burial grounds,” said Mayor Sheahan.
“For the past seven years, the Council has run the Burial Grounds Awards ceremony to recognise the hard work of the many hundreds of people involved. I am glad to see that the spirit of volunteerism is alive and well in County Limerick,” he added.
Castlejane, Knocklong achieved the overall winner’s award in the Ancient section and Kilcoleman, Rathkeale was named the overall winner of the Modern section.
Director of service, Kieran Lehane, explained, “Each year, the Council assists the work of local burial ground committees through a modest grant. A large number of groups and individuals looking after burial grounds throughout the County have this year benefited from such grants. The work carried out has assisted the Council in its management of the County’s burial grounds and for that we are extremely grateful.”
