Cork City Council moves to allay grave vandalism fears

City officials have moved to reassure people that a cemetery in Cork has not been targeted by vandals again.

They said they have no evidence to suggest the damage to a religious statue in St Catherine's Cemetery in Kilcully, which was outlined in fresh claims online, had occurred recently.

They believe it was an isolated incident and the damage may have occurred several weeks ago and only noticed in recent days.

Officials said they were satisfied that whenever the damage occurred, it was an isolated incident

and they are satisfied that no other graves or statues have been damaged in recent weeks.

The news should come as relief to families whose loved ones are buried in St Catherine's following the public outcry in January when up to 20 graves were desecrated in a single act of vandalism.

Reports of the statue damage emerged on social media in recent days and sparked a flood of visits to the cemetery.

The cemetery, which has experienced a number of minor vandalism incidents over the years, suffered extensive damage, with headstones on five plots knocked over and statues and adornments on another 14 plots badly damaged.

The incident and prompted a Garda investigation and a person of interest was indentified.

The attacks resulted in the installation of a 24-hour security presence on site at a cost of €6,000-a-week and arrangements were made to upgrade the CCTV system in the area.

Several new high-definition cameras have since been installed in and around the cemetery and public lighting on the approach roads and around its entrance has been upgraded.

However, claims were posted on social media in recent days about damage caused to a small statue of Our Lady in the cemetery.

Its nose had been chiselled off, and its hands had been removed possibly with the use of an angle grinder. Bizarrely, the nails on the hands had also been 'clipped', perhaps with a chisel.

A number of social media posts urged those with relatives or friends buried in the cemetery to visit the graveyard to inspect their plots for possible damage. A spokesman for Cork City Council said they had noticed a marked increase in the number of people visiting the cemetery, despite the travel restrictions, to inspect their own family plots.

The spokesman said the council was aware of the social media posts and as a result, cemetery staff conducted a full inspection of the cemetery and found no other damage.

He confirmed that they found a damaged three-foot high religious statue but that it appears as if that damage is historic, and may have occurred around the time of the January vandalism incidents.

He said the statue may have been replaced on its plinth but may have fallen over in recent days, causing fresh damage.

"Our staff walked the cemetery yesterday and no other damage was apparent. The damaged statue appears to be an isolated incident. It's the only case we are aware of," the spokesman said.

"It is regrettable that this has caused upset to people. It is an anxious enough time for people without worrying about graves," he added.

The cemetery is staffed six days a week and grounds maintenance and burials continue there regularly.