Council commits to columbarium wall in Kildare cemetery

Kildare County Council is to install a columbarium wall in Mainham Cemetery, Clane, “subject to available capital funding.”

The move follows a motion raised by Fine Gael councillor, William Durkan at a Clane-Maynooth Municipal District meeting held on Friday, June 6 2025.

Cllr Durkan motioned “That the council installs a columbarium wall in Mainham Cemetery, Clane in order to suitably cater for future local need.”

Speaking of his motion after the MD meeting, the Fine Gael councillor said: “It's through my work on the Environment SPC, that covers the graveyard capacity and provision within the county.

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“One of the issues that comes up time and time again is the overall capacity within the county and of course we've had such big growth in terms of population over the past number of years that going forward into the future, something there's going to be a lot of stress on is the suitable provision of graveyards.

“In the case of Mainham specifically, there's been a request to consider a columbarium wall so that suitable provisions can be put in place moving forward there as well. It ensures that there's enough capacity in the existing graveyard, and not only that, but that everybody is able to be catered for suitably, depending on their needs and wishes as well.”

According to Cllr Durkan, while the cemetery is not yet nearing capacity, there has been demand for the provision of a columbarium wall, in terms of providing for people's individual wishes.

He explained that provision of a columbarium wall is something the committee in charge of the graveyard has had requests from local residents for, which is why he put forward his motion at the MD meeting.

In its response, Kildare County Council confirmed its commitment towards providing a columbarium wall in Mainham Cemetery, “subject to available capital funding.”

The provision of a columbarium wall is now to be included in the 2025/2026 works programme, the council further confirmed.

Asked if he was pleased with the council's response to his motion, Cllr Durkan said: “I was, it was a very positive response overall, and it's a project that I hope will be moved forward within the next year as well, and I'm confident that we'll be able to put suitable funding in place through the Capital Programme over the next two years.”