Cork City Council Cemetery Committee Minutes
TitleCork City Council Cemetery Committee Minutes
ReferenceCP/CO/CY/M
Date
1890-1929
Production date 1890 - 1929
Scope and ContentThe present series of Cemetery Committee minutes begins in 1893. Earlier minutes for the years 1867-89 are recorded in General Committee Minutes (CP-CO-GC-M). In the first volume present, the Committee is described as ‘The Cemetery Committee of the Burial Board of the Borough of Cork’. In other volumes it is simply described as the Cemetery Committee. Its members were all councillors, although the Clerk of the Burial Board also attended meetings. The City Engineer and the Treasurer often attended meetings, which were usually held weekly.
From November 1924 to March 1929, while the Corporation was dissolved, meetings were attended by the City Commissioner (later City Manager), and the Clerk of the Burial Board, with the Superintendent and other officers including the Town Clerk and City Accountant often attending. City Manager Monahan continued to attend meetings, without Councillors present, up to 10 October 1929, when the present series ends.
The minutes generally contain a record of the Committee’s accounts and returns of orders issued and monies received, eg, for sale of plots, burials, and monuments. They also note reports and letters received and maters arising.
The Committee had responsibility for the maintenance and superintendence of Cork’s public cemeteries. St Finbarr’s Cemetery, Glasheen (at first the New Cemetery, Botanic Road), opened in 1868 as the city’s first municipal cemetery. An order closing all cemeteries and church vaults other than St Finbarr’s cemetery and the Quaker graveyard came into effect in 1870. St Joseph’s Cemetery, the second largest in the city, appears to have opened in 1877 but became a Corporation-owned cemetery at a much later date (3 Nov 1947). Other cemeteries became Corporation-owned cemeteries at a later period than is covered by the present series. The Corporation was also responsible for ensuring closed graveyards and vaults were in good and safe order.
The Committee initially operated using the Corporation’s Cemetery Fund which included revenue from rates and income from sales of ground, although in later minutes funding from the Treasurer’s, Superintendent’s, and City Engineer’s Departments are referred to. Applications to buy, transfer, or confirm burial rights in plots occur throughout the minutes. There is also much consideration given to monuments and trees, and to staffing and general maintenance matters, including maintenance of chapels and other facilities. The post of Registrar and Superintendent of St Finnbarr’s Cemetery became that of Cemetery Superintendent, heading the Superintendent’s Department. This officer made weekly reports to the Committee. A visiting sub-committee made regular visits to inspect condition of St Finbarr’s Cemetery and the work of cemetery staff.
From November 1924 to March 1929, while the Corporation was dissolved, meetings were attended by the City Commissioner (later City Manager), and the Clerk of the Burial Board, with the Superintendent and other officers including the Town Clerk and City Accountant often attending. City Manager Monahan continued to attend meetings, without Councillors present, up to 10 October 1929, when the present series ends.
The minutes generally contain a record of the Committee’s accounts and returns of orders issued and monies received, eg, for sale of plots, burials, and monuments. They also note reports and letters received and maters arising.
The Committee had responsibility for the maintenance and superintendence of Cork’s public cemeteries. St Finbarr’s Cemetery, Glasheen (at first the New Cemetery, Botanic Road), opened in 1868 as the city’s first municipal cemetery. An order closing all cemeteries and church vaults other than St Finbarr’s cemetery and the Quaker graveyard came into effect in 1870. St Joseph’s Cemetery, the second largest in the city, appears to have opened in 1877 but became a Corporation-owned cemetery at a much later date (3 Nov 1947). Other cemeteries became Corporation-owned cemeteries at a later period than is covered by the present series. The Corporation was also responsible for ensuring closed graveyards and vaults were in good and safe order.
The Committee initially operated using the Corporation’s Cemetery Fund which included revenue from rates and income from sales of ground, although in later minutes funding from the Treasurer’s, Superintendent’s, and City Engineer’s Departments are referred to. Applications to buy, transfer, or confirm burial rights in plots occur throughout the minutes. There is also much consideration given to monuments and trees, and to staffing and general maintenance matters, including maintenance of chapels and other facilities. The post of Registrar and Superintendent of St Finnbarr’s Cemetery became that of Cemetery Superintendent, heading the Superintendent’s Department. This officer made weekly reports to the Committee. A visiting sub-committee made regular visits to inspect condition of St Finbarr’s Cemetery and the work of cemetery staff.
Extent5 volumes
LanguageEnglish
Persons keywordCork City Council, Cork City Council
SubjectLocal Government, Cemetery Records
AccessOpen by appointment to those holding a current readers ticket
RightsSubject to Rules Governing Reproduction of Records
Levelseries
RepositoryCork City and County Archives