Council set to seek planning approval for Coosan Cemetery expansion

Agreement has been reached between a landowner and Westmeath County Council for the purchase of two acres of land to facilitate the long-awaited expansion of St Kieran's Cemetery in Coosan, according to Minister of State Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran.

Minister Moran announced details of the land purchase arrangement on Monday afternoon in a video post on Facebook, paying tribute to the landowner who he said he had worked closely with over the past twelve months to bring about the welcome news.

Describing the land deal for the expansion of Coosan cemetery as “very positive news” Minister Moran said it will now go before the elected members of Westmeath County Council for approval before it goes to planning.

He added that the news will give an extension to Coosan cemetery for the next “ten to twelve years” and said a lot of people had been in contact with him over the past year and beyond to express their concerns about how fast the graveyard is filling up.

News of the landowner agreement, which emerged during the course of the monthly meeting of Athlone-Moate Municipal District, gave cause for unrest amongst the elected members.

Cllr Paul Hogan, questioning the development, said he was completely unaware an "agreement had been reached" for the acquisition of the land.

He questioned if the council had "engaged a third party" to deal with the landowner on behalf of the local authority.

"As a council we should always be involved with this particular negotiation process. This acquisition, if it is true, has not come through the normal channels in the District and I am really disappointed as to how this has been corresponded with the members," Cllr Hogan said.

Cllr Aengus O'Rourke described as "foolhardy" for an individual to "run about" on social media "claiming credit" for a contract "yet to be signed". Some might say it is even "reckless to do so".

"Having an individual that is not a member of this local authority posting willy nilly on social media is not on. Someone needs to rein this in before it gets ridiculous," Cllr O'Rourke said.

Mayor Vinny McCormack said the manner in which members were informed of the proposed land acquisition was "disappointing".

"It's not the way in which members should hear about this agreement with the landowner, but let's hope it doesn't cause any issues when it comes to signing a contract," Cllr McCormack said.

District Manager Jackie Finney confirmed to members that the council had received consent from the landowner to proceed to seek planning.

She said negotiations were ongoing "but no contract had been signed".

"We have been engaging with a landowner in the vicinity of Coosan Cemetery for some time. While a contract has yet to be signed, we have received consent from the landowner to carry out site investigations and proceed to the planning process.

"I can assure members that the District did not involve a third party in the negotiation process. However, we cannot preclude any individual from speaking with the landowner involved," Ms Finney said.

The District Manager said that she was hopeful that the contract would be signed.

"The land will then be subject to the planning process. In the meantime, we will just continue with all the necessary steps that we have to go through," Ms Finney concluded.

When the issue was raised at the July 2025 meeting of Athlone Moate Municipal District Cllr Paul Hogan was told that the Westmeath local authority was “pursuing all options” with local landowners to expand the near-capacity Coosan cemetery.

Director of Services Jackie Finney acknowledged at that meeting that the cemetery was “under pressure” and was “filling up” at present.