There was a time when there was reverence for the dead, when their remains were interred in holy ground, when the last prayer offered for them was that they rest in peace. R.I.P.

That was then. This is now, when R.I.P. means "R.I.P. just for now", just for as long as it takes some developer to come along and rip you up, cart you off, dump your remains somewhere else, and put a car park and an office building where you first were laid.

In October a one thousand year old historic site was covered over in Louth within two days of its discovery, to allow the development of a housing complex to proceed.

In November a much more recent historic site, a nuns' graveyard in Cork, dating back over a century and a half, came under threat of the same fate.

The Good Shepherd Convent, where the graveyard lies, was destroyed by fire last July. Now a firm of developers proposes to build an apartment and office complex on the site. Detailed plans have not been submitted, but a spokesman for An Taisce, the state heritage body, as well as religious groups, have expressed their "horror" at the prospect of the graves being moved to make way for a parking lot.

Readers of Charles Dickens' novel "The Old Curiosity Shop" are well acquainted with the fate of that lovable and greatly mourned fictional character, "Little Nell". What they may not know is that the graveyard at the Shepherd of Good Hope Convent in Cork is the resting place of real little girl bearing the same name, Nelly Organ (4), better known as Little Nelly of God, who died in 1907. The child was known for holiness and devotion beyond her years. Regular prayer vigils were held at her graveside for many years.

Somehow reverence for the dead is no longer alive and well in Ireland! Graves can be shunted aside in the name of progress. Even nuns' graves.

Little Nelly and her companions deserve to be allowed to rest in peace.

--30--