Friday, March 09, 2012

Priests hit out at spate of graveyard robberies

Priests in a Co Donegal parish have hit out at thieves who are stealing precious souvenirs from graves.

The plea from priests at St Eunan’s Cathedral in Letterkenny comes after various attacks on local graveyards.

Some items have been taken from graves in Conwal and Leck graveyards and thrown into skips, while others have been stolen altogether.

They include precious personal items including pictures, teddy bears, and even rosary beads.

Priests have used the cathedral’s parish news bulletin to plead with the vandals to stop.

"It has been brought to our attention in the last week or so, that items are being removed from loved ones’ graves, sometimes thrown in the skip, other times taken from the graveyard altogether," they said.

"This is heartbreaking for the families involved."

The priests pleaded for people to "respect the belongings and graves of others".

They also said that some people were not treating graveyards with respect and warned that parishioners could be targeted for theft.

"We ask that when attending the graveyards that you are always observant," wrote the St Eunan’s priests. We also remind you to always lock your car when visiting a graveyard and leave nothing valuable inside."

Letterkenny town councillor Jimmy Kavanagh criticised the thefts.

"This is the lowest of the low. What are these people up to? You simply can’t put a value on these items and the thought of someone going around stealing them or just dumping them in a skip is despicable. I would ask people to be vigilant."