'Pure evil': Clare woman stole from and desecrated 17-year-old girl's grave
Kirsty Donnellan at her daughter Scarlett's grave at Tulla graveyard, Co Clare. Picture: Eamon Ward
A mother has described as “pure evil” the actions of a woman who stole from and desecrated her daughter’s grave on three separate occasions.
At Killaloe District Court sitting in Ennis, Kirsty Donnellan told the court she was "in a state of shock, anger and despair” when she found her daughter Scarlett's grave had been desecrated in May 2020.
Ms Donnellan said to have someone disturb your child’s grave and steal items from it is "the most hideous crime one could ever be a victim of”.
During the course of her victim impact statement, the mother of three told the court that eldest daughter, Scarlett, 17, had died just 20 months prior to the thefts from her grave at Tulla graveyard.
Mairead O'Sullivan, 41, has entered 18 separate guilty pleas concerning charges of stealing goods with a combined value of €597.50 from graves in cemeteries at Drumcliffe and Templemaley outside Ennis and also from Tulla cemetery.
There are 14 victims in the case, as Ms O’Sullivan of Fergus View, Cappahard, Tulla Rd, Ennis, stole from the same graves on a number of occasions.
Sergeant Louis Moloney told the court that four parties have made victim impact statements and handed statements into Judge Mary Larkin, and said Ms Donnellan wished to deliver her own victim impact statement from the witness box.
In her statement, Ms Donnellan told the court: “For any parent to bury their child, it is the most distressing, traumatic event that one could ever have to face in their life, so for someone to literally disturb the grave and to steal items from it, that are sentimental, and represent something of that person, that has meaning behind it, is extremely upsetting and the most hideous crime one could ever be a victim of."
She added: “When a loved one dies, the only thing we can do for them is to tender to their grave. We should be able to do that without fear that items of sentimental significance will not be touched.
Ms Donnellan said Scarlett “died tragically and unexpectedly in September 2018, to which I still await answers regarding the circumstances surrounding the causes that led her to her death, and as of yet, no inquest has been held due to various Garda and other investigation”.
On discovering the first theft, Ms Donnellan recalled “still in the midst of my grieving, 20 months to the day after my daughter, Scarlett had died, I went to visit her grave”.
"I had planted two miniature yellow rose bushes on her grave a week or so previous as Scarlett’s favourite colour was yellow.
“However, on the day of May 16, 2020, on visiting my daughter’s grave, I was in a state of shock, anger and despair and was in tears to find two holes in her grave where Ms O’Sullivan had dug out the rose bushes from my daughter’s grave.
“This was not the only time my daughter’s grave was desecrated. Later, during the summer in July 2020, items were taken from my daughter’s grave. Again, I was left distressed, crying and my faith in humanity questioned as who, and why, could someone carry out such an act of disrespect and pure evil.”
Ms Donnellan said the thefts from Tulla graveyard continued despite the pleas she made on local and national media for them to stop.
“All those pleas calling for a stop to the thefts didn’t stop Ms O’Sullivan from targeting them again. My daughter Scarlett’s grave was targeted once again between April 13 and April 14, 2021.
“Again, feelings of distress, anger and a fear of not being able to put anything on my daughter’s grave without it being taken or desecrated. I actually felt physically sick and could not understand how someone could do such a thing.”
Solicitor for Ms O’Sullivan Tara Godfrey told Ms Donnellan her client wished to offer her apology to her and the other victims in the case.
Judge Mary Larkin asked Ms Donnellan how the court should exercise available punishment on Ms O’Sullivan and in reply, Ms Donnellan said: “With the anger, hurt and the upset it has caused I do think an example should be made because I don’t think she should be able to get away with what she did.”
Asked by Judge Larkin did she believe Ms O’Sullivan should go to jail, Ms Donnellan replied: “I don’t know.”
Judge Larkin said she would adjourn the case to September 6 for a probation report on Ms O’Sullivan.
She said: “I want to hear from the Probation Service why someone would even consider going into a graveyard and desecrating a grave.”
The judge told Ms Donnellan: “I am sorry for the distress that this has caused you.” Ms Godfrey previously told the court Ms O’Sullivan is a married mother and “has no history of criminality”.
Ms Godfrey said Ms O’Sullivan “had a certain vulnerability around the time” of the thefts.
In one grave theft at Tulla cemetery on a point sometime between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2020, Ms O’Sullivan stole six ornamental barrels containing flowers valued at €90, which was the property of Edel Hanrahan.
The charges contrary to Section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences Act) 2001 show Aileen Tuohy was the victim of Ms O’Sullivan’s grave theft spree on three different occasions in 2020.
Between May 14 and May 16, Ms O’Sullivan stole rose bushes valued at €10 from Tulla cemetery, which were the property of Ms Tuohy.
On July 12/13, Ms O’Sullivan stole a flowerpot valued at €2.50 from Ms Tuohy and two months later on September 3/4, Ms O’Sullivan struck again and stole two white solar lanterns valued at €100 from Tulla cemetery.
Other items stolen from graves by Ms O’Sullivan included three dahlia plants, a wicker window box, yellow flowers and flower pots.
The thefts commenced in May 2020 and continued until April 2021 before gardaí identified Ms O’Sullivan as the culprit. The charges show the vast bulk of thefts occurred at Tulla graveyard, which was targeted 15 times over 11 months by Ms O’Sullivan.
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