Exhumation order granted after alleged trespass onto graveyard plot in Kerry

Permission to seek an exhumation order has been granted by a judge in a case involving a dispute over neighbouring burial plots in a Co Kerry cemetery.

The owners of one of the graves at Dromavalla near Killorglin are seeking the order as they attempt to establish if a concrete surround erected on another grave in 2011 has trespassed on to their plot and is sitting above the coffin of their late uncle.

The Circuit Civil Court in Killarney heard that Kerry County Council, which owns the graveyard, is a notice party and had been trying to mediate between the sides for more than a decade.

The plaintiffs are Michael Hassett and Bridget Gray, of Gounangillagh, Caragh Lake, Killorglin, and Parick Hassett, of Walnut Lane, Willsden, London. They believe a concrete surround erected by Pauline Healy, of Liss, Killorglin, the owner of the adjoining grave, is incorrect and extends over their deceased relatives.

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It is alleged Ms Healy “installed a concrete surround in an incorrect position and effectively trespassed on the Hassett family plot” and in particular over the coffin of the plaintiff’s late uncle, John Hassett, who died in 1975.

Surveys and excavations have taken place but have not been definitive, barrister Elizabeth Murphy, for the Hassett/Gray side told the court. What was needed now was a complete archaeological survey and the taking of DNA samples, she said.

“We want to engage an archaeological firm to carry out conclusive tests, excavation and the taking of samples,” Ms Murphy said. “My clients are in their 80s and 90s and are anxious to get this disposed of.”

Barrister Micheál Munnelly, for Ms Healy, said the application was seeking to put terms on the excavation order and this was outside the court’s jurisdiction.

He said the council had confirmed to him that no application had been made for the excavation of the grave. Under the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act 1948, he said, it was the council which decided on exhumation and the court had no jurisdiction.

Judge Terence O’Sullivan said “the row here is whose bodies are where”. The judge said the matter “has to be sorted” and that “somebody is right and somebody’s wrong”.

He gave the Hassett/Gray side liberty to apply to the council for exhumation but without breaking the concrete surface of the adjoining grave. The excavation could go to the left, right and underneath, he said.

In court documents, Ms Healy outlines that she and her predecessors have owned the family plot, comprised of five graves, since in or around the 1800s. Both sides claim their graves are 15ft, but the council found there is only 26ft combined between the two, according to the documents.

A non-invasive geotechnical specialist survey carried out by the council found there was 18 inches between the plinth erected in 2011 and the nearest coffin, the defence documents state.