Grave damage being investigated

Reports of more damage at a cemetery on the northside of the city are being investigated by both Cork City Council and An Garda Síochána.

It comes after thousands of euro worth of damage was done during the Christmas period at St Catherine’s Cemetery, Kilcully which resulted in high definition CCTV being installed to deter further damage.

However, more damage was reported on social media on Tuesday evening but City Hall officials told the Cork Independent that there was no apparent damage spotted on Wednesday morning, 29 April.

A statement from City Hall said: “We have had no reports of damage at the cemetery made to any of our cemetery staff nor to this office. An inspection was carried out this (Wednesday) morning following social media reports and no obvious damage is apparent. We are investigating a report that damage was caused to a small statue on one grave. There are eight new high definition cameras installed at the cemetery with improved lighting also in place. The cemetery is also remotely monitored seven days a week with voice over in place.”

Independent Cllr Kenneth O’Flynn described the possible damage at Kilcully cemetery as “blatant vandalism” and encouraged anyone that made complaints on social media to make them official by contacting City Hall.

Speaking on Wednesday morning, he said: “The idea of anyone desecrating a grave is appalling and if there is damage, then all CCTV must be handed over to gardaí. I would ask those who have made the allegations on social media to make contact with Cork City Council too with an official complaint.”

A spokesman for An Garda Síochána told the Cork Independent: “Gardaí are investigating possible criminal damage to a headstone in Kilcully graveyard that was reported to gardaí on 28 April. No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.”