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Council 'Bars' 94-Year-Old Man From His Own Grave Leaving Relatives Heartbroken (half-an-inch too small)
Daily Record ^ | 16 FEB 2021 | Jilly Beattiem, Kaitlin Easton

Posted on 02/17/2021 9:08:25 AM PST by nickcarraway

Campbell Mulholland's family have been left gutted at the "undignified" move as their beloved relative was returned to the morgue after his service.

A man has been denied his last wishes of being buried in his family grave leaving his relatives heartbroken.

The family of Campbell Mullholland was told by the council just 24 hours before his funeral that the 94-year-old had been refused entry because the grave was half-an-inch too small.

Mr Mulholland wanted to be with his infant son and wife when the time came and died on February 2 expecting to be buried with them.

Campbell's family members have been left gutted at the "undignified" move as their beloved relative, from Bangor, Northern Ireland, had to be taken back to the morgue after his service.

His niece Donna Coyle was informed her uncle was being "barred" from the family plot in Clandeboyne Cemetery just 24 hours before his funeral, reports Belfast Live.

She said: “At 9.30am on the day before my uncle's burial, the funeral home called to say the council had barred him from the grave. We've had no contact from the council, they abandoned the funeral home to that conversation.

“I couldn't believe what we were hearing. My uncle was a man of absolute integrity, he looked after his friends and family, worked as a milkman all his days and asked nothing of anyone.

“He was devoted to his wife Peggy and together they bought a family plot when their son Kenneth tragically died aged just five months in 1967. It must just have broken their hearts.

“When Peggy died in 2003, she was buried in the family plot with Kenneth, and Campbell expected to be with them one day. So to think of him now separated from them is indescribable.

“Campbell kept Peggy's slippers by their bed from the day she died, her perfumes and all her little bits and bobs remained in place in their bedroom for the last 18 years.

“He got comfort from the fact they'd be buried together but now he's not allowed to be anywhere near her or their son. He's lying alone in a coffin in a morgue. It’s undignified, unfair and unnecessary.”

When Mr Mulholland bought the family plot following his baby's death in 1967, the grave was intended to hold four coffins.

But burial regulations introduced in 1992 now require six feet between coffins and 28 inches above the final coffin in the grave.

An official at Ards and North Down Borough Council said Mr Mullholland's grave only allowed for another 3ft 9in and a coffin measuring 15 inches would not adhere to regulations.

Donna said: “Clarke's Funeral service offered to try to get a coffin that measures 11.5 inches with the hope that my uncle would fit in it. But the council says it would have to be 11 inches to stay within the rules, meaning we're fighting over half an inch of space.

“The funeral home asked for an extra half inch to be dug out of the grave and left on top of the grave to settle but the council won't hear of it. My uncle's wishes, intentions and the contract he had for burial have all been ignored.

“He paid for his funeral in full in 2012, 20 years after the new regulations and no one told him that there was a chance he'd be barred from his own grave.

“Where has humanity gone in Northern Ireland? What has happened that an old gentleman cannot be buried in his grave with his wife and baby for the sake of half an inch of soil? It's heartbreaking.

“My uncle paid in full for his own funeral service including everything from the flowers to the orders of service. He liked order and good sense and in the final moment of his life on this earth he has been subjected to disorder and very poor decisions.

“My uncle was taken back to the morgue after his funeral service and remains there unburied and alone.”

A spokeswoman for Ards and North Down council said: “All councils in Northern Ireland are bound by the Burial Ground Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992, which detail strict guidance in terms of the functions of a council in relation to its burial grounds.

"Regrettably, by law we do not have any leeway around this legislation and as such must abide by these Regulations.

"At the time of purchase, Council graves are not sold with a guaranteed occupancy as ground conditions vary in cemeteries and we cannot always confirm that a grave can accommodate a further coffin without testing for depth.

"We offer a depth testing service which can be requested at any time by a grave owner for which a charge is applied (£110) to provide greater reassurance prior to a family member passing should grave owners wish to avail of it.

"In terms of direct contact between the family and the Council, it is standard practice for a Funeral Director to liaise between the Council and the family about all matters connected to the burial.

"This includes communicating any issues to the family. We are of course willing to communicate with families if contacted directly by them.

"We accept that incidents such as this are distressing for families at what is already a difficult time, however, we will always do our utmost to try to find a solution that the family can accept."


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Local News; Society
KEYWORDS: grave; h; heartlessgovernment; itstheregs; redtape; regulations; regultions; scotland; shills
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1 posted on 02/17/2021 9:08:25 AM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

These people are following the Scot tradition of Burke and Hare.


2 posted on 02/17/2021 9:09:14 AM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

3 posted on 02/17/2021 9:10:16 AM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

So why couldn’t they cremate him and bury his ashes with her?


4 posted on 02/17/2021 9:11:40 AM PST by Oshkalaboomboom
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To: Oshkalaboomboom

I guess they should have just kowtowed to the government? I’m not sure if that would have made a difference.


5 posted on 02/17/2021 9:13:46 AM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Oh, like they can dig to a half inch. BS. Every land deal I’ve been involved in specified the area “more or less”.


6 posted on 02/17/2021 9:22:33 AM PST by bk1000 (Banned from Breitbart)
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To: nickcarraway
I guess they should have just kowtowed to the government?

He's unburied and alone now. Is that supposed to be some kind of victory on principle, like "I guess we showed that nasty old government who's boss!"?

7 posted on 02/17/2021 9:24:35 AM PST by Oshkalaboomboom
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To: Oshkalaboomboom

Don’t know his religion but cremation isn’t an option for some.....


8 posted on 02/17/2021 9:24:52 AM PST by nevergore (I have a terrible rash on my covfefe....)
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To: nickcarraway

The bureaucrat needs to move to CA and do a happy dance after incorrectly shutting a business.

The wrong people have governmental power.

When I retire, I’m going to go into the government and do the right thing until they fire me.


9 posted on 02/17/2021 9:25:49 AM PST by Jewbacca (The residents of Iroquois territory may not determine whether Jews may live in Jerusalem)
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To: nickcarraway

I’d be in favor of killing the bureaucrat and stuffing him or her in the grave.

So many people are alive only because I don’t have a fatal cancer, it’s shocking.


10 posted on 02/17/2021 9:27:15 AM PST by Jewbacca (The residents of Iroquois territory may not determine whether Jews may live in Jerusalem)
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To: nickcarraway

“(half an inch too small)”

Misleading


11 posted on 02/17/2021 9:29:06 AM PST by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: Jewbacca

Can I send you cigarettes?)


12 posted on 02/17/2021 9:42:55 AM PST by Cold Heart
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To: TexasGator

Sounds like somebody else wants that plot.


13 posted on 02/17/2021 9:44:08 AM PST by cnsmom
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To: cnsmom

“Sounds like somebody else wants that plot.”

It helps to read the article ...


14 posted on 02/17/2021 9:46:52 AM PST by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: nickcarraway

The disease of bureaucracy.......


15 posted on 02/17/2021 9:50:15 AM PST by volunbeer (Find the truth and accept it - anything else is delusional)
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To: nickcarraway

The “rules are rules” and zero tolerance folks sometimes need to be removed from the authority they hold.


16 posted on 02/17/2021 9:50:30 AM PST by Wuli
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To: nickcarraway

Since his purchase was before the newer burial restrictions, shouldn’t his be “grandfathered”????


17 posted on 02/17/2021 9:52:05 AM PST by JBW1949 (I'm really PC.....Patriotically Correct)
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To: nickcarraway

Maybe dig up his wife and put them together?


18 posted on 02/17/2021 9:57:31 AM PST by stylin19a (Seems 4,153,237 people got wed one year, not to start trouble but shouldn't that be an even number?)
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To: TexasGator

/Why is it misleading?


19 posted on 02/17/2021 9:58:02 AM PST by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

“Why is it misleading?”

Indicates man is too short!


20 posted on 02/17/2021 10:00:42 AM PST by TexasGator (Z1z)
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