Man arrested over damage to headstones at Laois cemetery

Gardaí have arrested a person over the criminal damage of gravestones at Portlaoise Cemetery on Friday, February 2 last. 

The revelation was made by Garda Superintendent Eamon Curley at a special meeting of Portlaoise Municipal District. It's understood the man was arrested yesterday. 

The special meeting was held today to discuss measures aimed at preventing criminality and antisocial behaviour at the largest cemetery in the county. It followed the desecration of a number of graves at the cemetery last month. 

Laois County Council Director of Services Donal Brennan said the SS Peter and Paul’s Cemetery covers over four and a half hectares or nearly 12 acres and has a boundary around the site of nearly 1 km. 

“The town has effectively grown out to meet the cemetery over the years,” he said. 

Mr Brennan said Laois Offaly Crime Prevention Officer, Sgt Graham Kavanagh, who recently became the first Garda in Ireland to secure a Diploma in Designing Out Crime, was compiling a report in relation to the cemetery at the last meeting. 

Senior Engineer with Laois County Council Ken Morley said he had visited the cemetery with Sgt Kavanagh. They noticed a section of fence had been “broken down” and it provided easy access out of the sight of people. 

He said the need for repairs to fencing in places and said a new 30 metre long 2.4 metre high palisade fence was needed at the cemetery. He said this could be installed subject to funding. 

Sinn Fein Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley said there are ongoing concerns around antisocial behaviour and criminality at the graveyard.  She cited incidents of expensive items being stolen from graves and “cars being driven over graves” at the cemetery. 

“There is problems there the whole time with drinking,” she said. 

She noted the report didn’t recommend CCTV but she insisted work should be done to improve the cemetery such as improving the footpaths and installing lighting.  She wanted to see a programme of works drawn up for the cemetery.  

“We need more than a section of fence,” said Cllr Dwane Stanley. 

“We want to be able to say to people in the  community that it is safe to go to the graveyard,” she said. 

Chairperson of the Cemetery Committee, Thomas Timmons, was in disbelief at the council’s response.  “I just can’t believe that is what the council is offering,” he said. 

“What has the council got against Portlaoise Cemetery,” he asked. 

He said there are two large trees which, if removed, would provide visibility all the way around the cemetery. He said the committee are not looking for millions. 

“Just come up and look at the paths there, they are opened up a couple of inches,” said Mr Timmons. 

“Please just listen to us for once, I know you have ignored us for years as a cemetery committee,” he said. 

“Just for once listen to us and respect us for what we are, a voluntary committee,” he said. 

Cemetery Committee member Maria McCormack welcomed the proposed new fence and said the existing one at Foxborrow was too low. 

Mr Brennan took issue with comments at the meeting and queried whether or not it should be a public meeting. “Some of the language that was used we cannot stand for,” he said.

Fianna Fail Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald told Mr Brennan that the voluntary committee had worked for years and years with “little help” and “it was only fair” to let them speak. 

“I was coming to a meeting of the Municipal District, not a public meeting,” said Mr Brennan. “Some of the language used in my view was excessive,” he said. 

Mr Timmons asked what was wrong with what he had said? “This is the way we have been treated by the council,” he said. “We are very proud Portlaoise people and we will look after our cemetery,” he said. 

Cllr Dwane Stanley said she was making no apology for any of her comments. She said councillors have  a “duty and responsibility” to raise such issues and she told Mr Brennan that it was obvious to all that the meeting was public. “We looked for a public meeting,” she pointed out. 

Cemetery Committee member John O’Neill said the council would get quite a bill if the volunteers were paid for the work they do at the cemetery. “We give hours upon hours upon hours,” he said. 

Mr O’Neill said at the last Cemetery Mass committee members were “verbally abused at the gate and threatened to be run over by cars.” 

“We shouldn’t be begging, we are not asking for a whole lot,” he said. 

Mr O’Neill said there had been incidents of people being threatened while visiting their parents or children’s graves. “It is the truth and our Chairman spoke the truth,” he said. 

Fine Gael Cllr Willie Aird said despite what was said he believed the cemetery was safe and he asked the gardaí to confirm this. He said one section of fence at the cemetery was too low and there should have been consultation with the planning office. 

He questioned where the money was for improvement works previously agreed upon at the cemetery. He said it behoved the councillors to contact the head of finance and find out where the allocation for the cemetery had gone. 

“I honestly believe, hand on heart, that the money is there and the job should be done,” he said. 

Labour Cllr Marie Tuohy said she didn’t believe anyone had said anything wrong at the meeting. She said Sgt Kavanagh had compiled a report and she wanted to know would any action now be taken. 

Cllr Fitzgerald said there had been regular garda patrols in the cemetery since the act of vandalism and she thanked gardaí for this. 

Garda Superintendent Eamon Curley asked everyone not to lose sight of the families whose loved ones' graves were damaged last month. He said hundreds of people visit the cemetery every week. 

“The vast, vast majority of people never encounter antisocial behaviour or are victims of crime,” said Supt Curley. “It is a safe place,” he added. 

Supt Curley said while a motive was still unclear and no prosecution had yet taken place, progress had been made in the investigation. 

“We have made some progress and conducted an arrest,” he explained. 

He said Sgt Kavanagh’s report was a way of putting forward every conceivable measure to hinder antisocial behaviour and crime. He said he would welcome any measures that might be introduced but acknowledged that there was a “raft” or measures included. 

Sgt Kavanagh said the measures could be broken down into categories of appropriate, realistic and cost effective. 

“There is nothing that I do that puts an obligation on a local authority that they have to do it,” he said. 

Mr Brennan said the council was due to survey all of the cemeteries in Laois. He said that would allow the council to draw up a programme of works for the different cemeteries. 

Ms McCormack said “so we don’t have these problems going forward” Sgt Kavanagh should be involved in the design stage.