The remains of a Longford man were taken by boat for burial at Saints Island Cemetery because the causeway to the island has been eroded in heavy flood water from Lough Ree.
Newtowncashel locals felt the damaged causeway posed a hazard for this afternoon’s funeral procession and so the man's remains were brought in a coffin on a lake boat to the cemetery.
Members of the Longford scuba divers club followed behind the remains in a rigid inflatable boat which carried the man's relatives and mourners.
Coffin taken by boat for burial in Longford due to flood damage https://t.co/NUuYZORMoW https://t.co/wxU2cjFpaS
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) January 12, 2016
Francis Killian, a local farmer, called on Longford County Council to ensure the causeway is rebuilt and reinforced after the flooding goes down.
He said the cemetery on Saints Island, which is adjacent to the ruins of an Augustinian Friary, was an important burial place for hundreds of families over the last 300 years.
Mr Killian said the people of the area are entitled to bury their dead on the island.
The remains of another parishioner had to be brought by tractor and trailer to the same graveyard at Christmas.
Scaffolding erected on Saints Island, county Longford to help take the remains of a local man & mourners onto island pic.twitter.com/P3P9Xw1O4B
— Ciaran Mullooly (@ciaranmullooly) January 12, 2016
