Columbarium Wall

Carlow County Council provides a Columbarium Wall in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Carlow. A Columbarium Wall is a collection of niches designed to house a receptacle containing the cremated remains of family members, each with an individual front section incorporating a memorial plaque. The cremated remains are placed behind the plaque in a standard receptacle designed specifically for this purpose. The memorial plaque is engraved with an inscription. Each niche can accommodate a maximum of two cremated remains.

Cost of Niches

  1. There is currently a capacity for 96 Niches at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Carlow.Each Niche can accommodate 2 standard urns. The current cost per Niche is €1,500.00. The cost covers both openings and the first inscription. An additional payment of €250.00 (incl. VAT) will be required for the second inscription.

Size of Niches

Each Niche is 40.5cm wide X 23cm deep X 28cm high. The maximum size of urn permitted is 18cm wide X 26.5cm high.

Opening Times

The opening and closing of a Columbarium Niche will be carried out during standard operating hours Monday to Friday from 9.30am – 3.30pm (excluding public holidays). The opening and closing of a Niche will always be performed by Council personnel. A notice period of 10 working days will apply to organising the date of a niche opening to ensure availability of staff.

Inscriptions



As per the Bye Laws, inscriptions on columbarium walls or other facilities for cremated remains, shall be in accordance with council policy. Engraving on the memorial plaque will be the responsibility of the purchaser to arrange through Carlow County Council. Prior approval to the proposed inscription must be obtained from Carlow County Council in advance of any work being carried out.

Enquiries



Any enquiries can be made directly to the Environment Section, Assembly Rooms, Cox’s Lane, Carlow by:

Phone: 059 9136231

E-mail: environment@carlowcoco.ie 

Terms and Conditions

The following Terms and Conditions will apply to each and every party purchasing a Columbarium Niche.

  1. Carlow County Council Cemeteries Bye Laws 2021 apply to all burials and internments whether a new grave is being purchased for a standard burial or for cremated remains or for internment of cremated remains within a columbarium wall.
  2. All details as required by the Cemetery Registrar, with regards to the soul being interred in the cemetery, must be provided to ensure the Cemetery Register is maintained as required by law. 
  3. No pre-purchase of niches shall be permitted in Columbarium walls. 
  4. A maximum of One Niche can be purchased at the time of death. 
  5. The purchaser acknowledges that the Cremation Niche has a maximum capacity for two cremated remains only and all cremated remains must be contained in a standard receptacle. 
  6. Carlow County Council shall allocate Niche(s), this will be done in sequential order. 
  7. Each receptacle must include a plate containing the name and date of death of the deceased. 
  8. Each niche in the Columbarium Wall Niche measures approximately 28cm in height, 40.5cm in width and 23cm in depth. It will be a matter for the purchaser to ensure that the dimensions of the receptacle containing cremated remains is suited to the size of the niche being purchased and that two receptacles can be accommodated if required. 
  9. Engraving on the memorial plaque will be the responsibility of the purchaser to arrange with Carlow County Council. The first inscription will be included in the niche price and will be carried out by the council’s approved contractor. The second inscription will be paid to Carlow County Council and carried out by the council’s approved contractor. Prior approval to the proposed inscription must be obtained from Carlow County Council in advance of any work being carried out. 
  10. The inscription on the memorial plaque will be limited to first, middle and last name of the deceased together with brief address, date of birth (if desired) and date of death. The font will be in a standard format specified by Carlow County Council. No other inscriptions will be permitted. 
  11. Inscription should be in Font “Times New Roman”, or similar, upper case, non-italic and in gold. Details of name to be 25mm in height, dates 23mm in height, all other script 20mm in height. The Niche number shall be placed in the bottom left corner. 
  12. No photographic images will be permitted on the memorial plaque. 
  13. The planting of flowers or shrubs or the placing of flowers / memorials / wreaths on, in front of, or adjacent to a Columbarium is not permitted. 
  14. The opening and closing of a Columbarium Niche will be carried out during standard County Council operating hours Monday to Friday from 9.30 – 3.30pm (excluding public holidays). The opening and closing of a Niche will be always performed by Council personnel. A notice period of 10 working days will apply to organising the date of a niche opening to ensure availability of staff. 
  15. Columbarium niches are non-transferrable. 
  16. Scattering of cremated remains is not permitted under any circumstances within any part of St Marys Cemetery. 
  17. In any instance where the above criteria are not adhered to, the Council reserves the right to remove any structure, inscription or other matter at variance with these criteria.
  18. The request for removal of cremated remains from a niche must be made in writing to Carlow County Council.