Families near Clifden say they are having to check the weather forecast two or three days in advance before they can bury their dead or visit a loved one’s grave. Persistent flooding at Errislannan graveyard, just south of the Connemara town, has been described as “upsetting” after the issue was taken from a packed public meeting all the way to County Hall.
Around 60 people turned out at a public meeting in Clifden Town Hall on the problem, Galway Bay FM reported on Tuesday 27 October. Residents want Galway County Council to act, arguing that repeated flooding of the cemetery is disrespectful both to those buried there and to their families.
‘Not ideal in anybody’s world’
Fianna Fáil councillor Gerry King, who travels the road past the graveyard every day, raised the matter at County Hall. He told Galway Bay FM that people are worried and frustrated at seeing the flooding happen again and again.
The practical consequences are stark. Flooding can make funerals and grave visits difficult, and King said people now have to look at the forecast two or three days ahead to plan around it. He described that situation as unsatisfactory for everyone involved.
Errislannan is a quiet peninsula between Clifden and Ballyconneely, and its graveyard is the resting place of generations of local families. For a rural Connemara community, where funerals bring whole parishes together, a cemetery that cannot be reliably reached is more than an inconvenience.
The bridge at the heart of the problem
King has put forward two fixes: drainage works on the river and funding to raise the bridge near the graveyard. He told Galway Bay FM that the bridge is the critical point and needs to be raised, replaced, or both.
He said he intends to reapply for climate action funding before the end of 2026 to pay for the work. Galway Bay FM’s report does not say whether an earlier funding bid was refused, or how much the works might cost, and the council’s own position was not set out in the report.
A wet and wild October in Connemara
The graveyard row came to a head during a punishing spell of weather for the west. Storm Boelo swept in over the weekend of 24 and 25 October, when Met Éireann placed Galway under an orange wind warning from Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning, along with a yellow rain warning and a warning of possible coastal flooding and wave overtopping at high tide.
Galway City Council closed several coastal car parks and roads, put the Spanish Arch flood barrier in place and handed out sandbags. By Tuesday 27 October Met Éireann had issued a further high tide advisory, warning of strong onshore winds, storm surge and large waves along all coasts, Galway Bay FM reported. The station said multiple roads in the county had been left impassable by Boelo’s rain and wind.
The Errislannan flooding is described by residents as a long-running, persistent problem rather than something caused by a single storm. But the latest bout of severe weather has done little to ease fears that the situation will get worse, not better, as winters grow wetter.
What happens next
The key step now is funding. King plans to lodge a fresh application for climate action money before the year is out, and residents will be watching closely to see whether Galway County Council and the Department back the drainage and bridge works.
Forecasters were more hopeful in the short term: a meteorologist told Galway Bay FM that midweek conditions looked mostly dry and bright, with a possible spell of high pressure to follow. For families in Errislannan, though, a few dry days will not solve a problem they say has gone on far too long.
Readers with information or photographs showing the history of flooding at the graveyard are invited to contact Connemara Journal.
Sources
- Galway Bay FM: Persistant flooding at graveyard near Clifden described as ‘upsetting’ (27 October 2026)
- Galway Bay FM: High tide advisory in place following heavy rain overnight (27 October 2026)
- Met Éireann: Impacts of Storm Boelo (23 October 2026)
- Galway City Council: Storm Boelo weather warning and impacts, Galway City (23 October 2026)
Featured image: Clifden Bay – geograph.org.uk – 373353 by Ian Taylor, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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