Cian McPhillips of Ireland with his parents Laura and Paddy and sister Sarah and his Men's 1500m gold medal at Dublin Airport as Team Ireland return home from the European U20 Athletics Championships.
Search
20 Sept 2025
Search
20 Sept 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
Restrictions on headstone heights have been strengthened to 1.2 meters
New laws over the heights of headstones were discussed during September’s meeting for the protection and management of cemeteries. The new bye-laws mean that there is the removal or triple plots for increased capacity, and that there is to be no pre-purchase of plots. The retaining fee structure means that one plot is €450.
Restrictions on headstone heights have been strengthened to 1.2 meters. Celtic crosses have to be standalones without any podiums. All contractors for cemeteries have to now be on a register to guarantee that these bye-laws are followed.
Read more: Buzzing with biodiversity in Longford County Council meeting
The meeting acknowledged the gratitude to all the work done on a voluntary basis by those who maintain the upkeep of the cemeteries.
Cllr Casey said: “How do you police the headstone height? Do we go out or take it down? The caretakers of our cemeteries–the pay doesn’t equate to 129 a quarter. It’s a serious amount of work voluntarily and a job nobody will touch. It’s something we need to look at.”
Cllr Butler replied: “Casey has hit the nail on the head. There will be serious compliance problems. It’s a well-crafted legislation but if you expect caretakers to enforce these, will you have to take people to court to comply? I can’t see certain elements that will comply.”
It was explained that the register of contractors had to sign up and comply with the bye-laws. If someone slips through the net, it could mean the removal of the headstone. There is a three-month grace period before the introduction of the new laws, but the council is talking to undertakers.
Read more: 'Pivotal moment for Longford' as €7 million investment will create dynamic cultural hub
Cllr Mark Cahill asked how the notification will be sent out about the new bye-laws, in which the presentation said that there would be the purchasing of advertisements in local papers, as well as social media campaigns that people can reference.
Plastic flowers have not been ruled out to ban.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
