Scouts oppose graveyard move

Scout leaders and the parish council in a Co Kildare village have clashed over a suggestion that a scout den could be located…

Scout leaders and the parish council in a Co Kildare village have clashed over a suggestion that a scout den could be located on the site of a 17th century graveyard.

The Clane scouts have been using a premises on land owned by the parish for the past 21 years and have been told to vacate it. Scout leaders claim that the parish finance committee has offered them £25,000 towards alternative accommodation and the community council has suggested that they buy a Portakabin and put it on the grounds of the old abbey.

Ms Bernadette Plunkett, a scout leader, claims this proposal has created "great anger". "We are part and parcel of the community and the idea that our scout den should now be sited on a graveyard is ludicrous," she said.

The parish priest, Father Denis Harrington, has denied the suggestions and has refused to make any further comment on the matter.