Gardaí quiz storage firm staff over theft of State’s paintings

Gardaí are talking to staff at a private storage firm to determine how thieves were able to access its warehouse and remove historic State paintings unnoticed.

As revealed in the Irish Examiner last Saturday, the heist only emerged when a civil servant spotted one of the paintings for sale online.

The paintings had been stored in a warehouse in Co Kildare by the Department of Arts, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht for “safe keeping”. The works were removed 14 years ago from a stately home.