'Exploitation' - Would you pay over €12k to be buried near Wolf Tone in Kildare?

Liveline heard a heated debate as Joe Duffy hosts the question 'Would you pay a premium to be buried closer to Wolfe Tone?'

The cemetery, Wolfe Tone Private Lawn Cemetery near the town of Sallins, Co Kildare are charging up to €12,500 for a premium burial plot.

A spokesperson for Wolfe Tone Private Lawn Cemetery said: "This tranquil cemetery provides a peaceful and reflective environment where families can honour their departed members amidst the historical significance of Wolfe Tone’s burial tomb.

"Theobald Wolfe Tone, one of the leaders of the 1798 Rebellion and regarded as the father of Irish republicanism, proving to be a vital link to the history of the nation of Ireland."

The price per plot ranges from €5,000 to €12,500 based on proximity to Wolfe Tone's grave excluding VAT. 

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Eamon Heffernan, told Liveline: "I feel it is a bit of a marketing ploy to get more money out of the people and it is exploiting Tone's legacy. He stood for social justice and equality and respect. I think it is not right what they are doing. It is disrespectful to our Fenian dead, to use that man, that great great Fenian especially with what he stood for." 

An administer of the cemetery and a representative of Setanta Solicitors said: "It is a development that is needed for the locality. The population in Bodenstown continues to grow and with that comes a need for services such as a graveyard. When it was launched we reached out to the local authority and we are trying to work with them to make plots available to locals for plots at a reduced rate but we have not have the engagement from them. The pricing is set by vertue of the demand, there is a national monument there and there is a price there for that."

According to Kildare County Council, a burial plot in a cemetery run by the council will cost between €1,100 and €2,452 depending on if it is a single or double plot or if the grave is newer.