Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 22 May 1990

Vol. 398 No. 10

Written Answers. - Drumcliffe (Sligo) Graveyard Extension.

Edward Nealon

Ceist:

91 Mr. Nealon asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to an 11 year delay in the provision of an extension to Drumcliffe Graveyard, Sligo, because of the insistence of the Office of Public Works on an archaeological excavation of the 1.8 acres of land acquired by Sligo County Council for this purpose; that the Office of Public Works will not provide the funds for the excavation work it is demanding; that the county council does not have the money to fund the excavation itself; and the action he proposes to take to solve the problem arising out of the demands of the Office of Public Works which, after 11 years, results in the present situation where there is no extension to the graveyard and no archaeological excavation in progress or planned.

Minister for Finance (Mr. A. Reynolds)

I am advised by the Commissioners of Public Works that the area for the proposed extension to the graveyard, adjacent to the Church of Ireland church at Drumcliffe, County Sligo, is part of a very important ancient monastic site founded by St. Columcille in the 6th century.

Accordingly no ground disturbance can be carried out there without prior archaeological investigation. It is the statutory responsibility of Sligo County Council, under the National Monuments Acts, to protect the archaeology of sites in its ownership.

In 1980 the county council engaged an archaeologist to carry out exploratory excavations, as a result of which a full excavation of the graveyard areas was deemed necessary. The Commissioners of Public Works agreed to make a contribution and paid the archaeologist approximately £45,000. A further £4,600 will be payable on the post excavation aspect.

The commissioners notified the council, on a drawing, of the part of the site which had been archaeologically cleared for burials as a result of the excavation carried out.

They have further advised the council that an alternative site should be found for the graveyard in view of the rich archaeological potential of the Drumcliffe site and the expenses which would be involved in excavating the remaining portions of it. This still remains their view.