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.

The theft went unnoticed and as a result, neither the gardaí nor the department were alerted.

It was only in the last three weeks that the alarm was raised by a member of staff at the department, who noticed the art sale while surfing the internet.

When department staff checked the private storage facility, they found all the works had been removed.

The heist has sparked a high-level Garda probe and a massive internal review of security within the Department of Arts and Heritage. A spokeswoman for the department said: “An investigation is under way by An Garda Síochána in relation to the loss of a number of items held in private storage on behalf of the department.”

The departmental review includes:

* The removal of all other department items at the facility to another site;

* An inventory of all artwork, furniture, and other items in storage by the department;

* A physical check on all these items, which is nearing completion.

Garda sources said it was not yet clear when the paintings went missing. Officers are trying to determine when they were last checked in the storage site. “Detectives are trying to get a timeline on this, a proper trail of the paintings in the facility,” said a Garda source.

Detectives are trying to establish who had access to the warehouse and who had knowledge of its contents.

They also want to know what security procedures were in operation, how they were bypassed, and how the theft went unnoticed.

The department spokeswoman said Arts Minister Jimmy Deenihan had ordered an internal probe.

“He has instructed his department to undertake an in-depth investigation and report — including a review of procedures and protocols in place for the storage of artefacts — for completion and presentation to the minister.

“Whilst this is ongoing, the minister is being kept fully appraised of all developments — on a daily basis — in relation to this matter.”