Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I know that the graveyard has received funding but the funding is running out and the works are nowhere near satisfactory at present. I appeal to the Minister of State and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to talk to DCC about the need for further funding. A substantial amount is needed for this property. If it were not for local people who look after this, such as the Lynch family who have done decades of magnificent work on the graveyard, Finglas tidy towns, volunteers and the Finglas historical society, the graveyard would be far worse off.

I would love for someone to look at this graveyard. The church is a magnificent building that needs to be preserved and in working order for the people. It would work as a museum and would be an ideal place to anchor a museum for the history of the area, not just for the people of Finglas, but for those around. We saw what happened with the Nethercross, which was a very big, symbolic cross at the time Cromwell was coming through Finglas. Residents buried the cross to hide it from him, which shows how important the Nethercross and this building are. The graveyard is steeped in history. One can see it and feel it.

Finglas deserves better. It deserves respect and the church and graveyard deserve to be brought back to life in a meaningful way.

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