Residents plan to hold a special reconsecration ceremony at the old graveyard in Pulathomas, Co Mayo to mark the first anniversary of last year's landslides in the village, writes Elisha Commins.
As well as the devastating damage caused to homes, property, bridges and roads on the night of the landslides, headstones from the graveyard were washed over the cliff into Sruwddacon Bay with the force of the debris coming down off Dooncarton Hill on September 19th last.
As part of the commemoration planned for the weekend of September 18th-19th, the villages of Pulathomas, Glengad and Barnachuille, which were affected by the landslides, will also be blessed.
Most of the damage to the graveyard has since been repaired and work is ongoing to reinstate the headstones. A retaining wall onto the roadway at the cliff side is currently under construction by local FÁS workers and is expected to be complete by the anniversary.
Meanwhile, the Landslide Working Group, which has representatives from Mayo County Council, the Department of the Environment, the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and the OPW, met this week to discuss progress on the proposed landslide protection measures.
The working group is awaiting a final report from Tobins Consulting Engineers, who have been monitoring Dooncarton Hill since the landslides.
This will give a final cost estimate for the proposed "kinetic fences" or landslides barriers to be constructed on the mountain, as well as the new drainage programme for the area, which will allow water to get down the hill as quickly as possible in the event of torrential rainfall.
The final cost of works to be completed in Pulathomas is expected to be in the region of €1.5 million.
It had originally been planned to construct approximated 900 metres of "kinetic fences" on the mountain but in light of the stabilisation of the mountain over the winter and the drainage works carried out to date, this figure was revised downwards to 290 metres.
However, following meetings with local residents, this figure is expected to be increased further to take account of concerns raised.
The proposed kinetic fences are the first of their kind to be constructed in this country and are used on the continent as avalanche protection.
While a significant programme of works has been carried out by the council and the OPW in the past year on roads, bridges, culverts and drainage, residents are not hopeful that the barriers will be in place this winter. It is understood that funding, planning and maintenance issues will all have to be addressed over the coming months.