Kilcully cemetery set for CCTV upgrade

A CCTV monitoring upgrade at St Catherine’s Cemetery in Kilcully looks set to be put in place at a cost of €30,000.

It comes following incidents of significant vandalism at the graveyard in recent weeks.

In the meantime, security is to remain in place at the cemetery and is expected to cost the City Council in the region of €23,000 by the time they’re stood down, which won’t be until the new monitoring system, which will also feature a voiceover, is in place.

Representatives of relatives of the deceased attended a meeting on Monday with councillors from the North West and North East areas, as well as some council officials.

The specification of the CCTV cameras at the graveyard is set to be changed and upgraded, and they will have a voiceover system added. The cameras are to be monitored by a private contractor, who will be able to use the voiceover system to alert those in the graveyard that they are being monitored and, should there be any illegal activity, will call the Gardaí.

Meanwhile, public lighting in the area is also set to be upgraded, enabling better quality images to be recorded on the CCTV system. The new measures could be in place within the next three weeks.

Chair of the meeting, Cllr Tony Fitzgerald, told The Echo that relatives of the deceased agreed that the council should go ahead with the plans, and they would meet again with councillors and officials in a couple of weeks to discuss the implementation of the measures.

Cllr Kenneth O’Flynn said that the  “wheels move very slowly in Cork City Council” but believed that they were taking “steps in the right direction” following the commitments from the Council, despite saying that he’s not certain the families with loved ones in St Catherine’s Cemetery will be happy.

He believes that additional cameras may be needed in the future, given the size of the site, but is confident that the new system has the potential to be successful, with similar ones in St Anne’s Park and Dr Hearn Park in Shandon having significantly reduced antisocial behavior there.

It’s also understood the Council plans to extend the cemetery in Kilcully in the next couple of years.