I that this was sarcasm at first, but this absurd comparison seems sincere on your part.
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."
We had to deal with this a couple of years ago when my Dad died. He was to be buried next to my Mom in the family plot at St. John’s in Brooklyn. Lots of phone calls and measurements of caskets to find one that would be permitted to be used. I couldn’t believe the nonsense involved.
Is the problem that he would not be socially distancefar enough and might spread covid?
A pathetic case of government overreach. Let the poor man rest in peace next to his beloved.
On reading these endless stream of idiotic stories from ‘our betters’ in Europe, I always come to the conclusion that the smart ones left 300+ years ago to head west.
Social distancing between coffins?
Someone should find the individual human being who decided that and go beat the hell out of him or her. Cruelty like this should not pass.
Maybe he didn’t want to be torched. A lot of people don’t. Some even specifically say so. And that FAR outweighs a half inch that it’s doubtful they could even measure that accurately.
This is just wanton cruelty.
Someone should find the individual human being who decided that and go beat the hell out of him or her. Cruelty like this should not pass.
Solution:
Cut half an inch off each member of the local soviet.
Repeat as necessary until they approve the burial.
In some cases it is the only answer.
It has always been thus. To modify their behavior back into norms since they seem unmoved by common sense or compassion. But I know violence is never the answer in the USAF.
In MANY cases violence is needed.
I know it sounds cruel but if you think about it, when it comes to weights and measures there is always going to be people who either just squeak in or barely miss out. Ask any parent who has ever paid big bucks to get their children into an amusement park only to have them barred from all of the good rides because they were a whisker short. You just never hear about the people who got buried with a half inch to spare.
Maybe they will luck out and public shaming will cause the council to reconsider but that will just lead to complaints by other people.
I that this was sarcasm at first, but this absurd comparison seems sincere on your part.
That’s what I thought as well!
“ Why is violence the answer ?”
Because sometimes it is.
That’s why.
L
Absurd only if you’re too stupid to understand the original premise that anything involving measures is going to leave people above or below the threshold, no matter what that threshold is. Apparently you fit into that category.
Have you ever heard of an analogy? Show me a good website that compares grave depths and I’ll use that as an example instead, that is if you can quit posting silly memes as if they are some sort of intellectual exercise.
As for my pictorial responses, read my profile. I'm not changing that habit and I explain why. Its to avoid arguments with jerks.
Just dont be one.
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