Cork cemetery to receive 24-hour security following desecration of graves

A round-the-clock security presence has been introduced at a cemetery on the northside of Cork city after a shocking vandalism attack caused heartbreak for families.

Security guards will patrol St Catherine’s graveyard in Kilcully 24-hours a day for the “foreseeable future” as gardaí continue their investigations into the desecration of several graves at the historic cemetery overnight last Thursday.

Up to 20 graves were targeted — several headstones were kicked over, statues were beheaded, and various grave ornaments and vases were smashed. Most of the headstones can be repaired.

Detectives are closely examining CCTV footage from cameras which cover the cemetery car-park and gates in a bid to identify the culprit or culprits. They are exploring a possible connection between last week’s attack and a string of previous targeted attacks over recent months on a handful of graves and plots owned by members of the Travelling community. The previous attacks are believed to be linked to a local feud.

However, last week’s incident is considered to be a serious escalation of the suspected feud with headstones and plots completely unconnected to Traveller families targeted and damaged.

Crowds of people have been visiting the cemetery in recent days to check on their loved ones’ graves and to assess any possible damage. Many expressed the hurt and outrage on local radio yesterday, including one caller to the Neil Prendeville Show on Cork’s RedFM who said her brother has offered a €5,000 reward for information that could lead to the identification of the vandals responsible.

Elderly rights campaigner, Paddy O'Brien, whose wife is buried in the cemetery, visited the graveyard over the weekend and said he has never seen so many people upset: "It's an awful sight. The place was packed. I'm going to hundreds of funerals here and I've never seen so many cars. I've never seen so many people upset, crying with tears."

"It's appalling. I was looking at one grave, I spoke to the family. Her wish was that she would be buried under a tree. The whole thing is gone, destroyed. They've taken away the stone. There are families here crying. My own wife is buried here. I spoke to a man who came down from Dublin to see his aunt's and uncle's grave. He was a fine man, in his 50s, but the poor man was upset," he added.

A spokesperson for the City Council, which manages the cemetery, said they have provided CCTV footage to the gardaí to assist in their investigation and a 24-hr fixed security presence will be in place at the cemetery for the foreseeable future.

He said: “There have been a number of smaller incidents of vandalism of graves in that cemetery over recent months but we have never seen anything on the scale of damage that we witnessed last Friday morning. It is very regrettable and understandably very upsetting for the families involved.”