A statue of baby Jesus which was stolen from an outdoor crib in Waterford city has reportedly been recovered.
The statue was taken early yesterday morning from the Christmas crib outside the Cathedral on Barronstrand Street.
It was reportedly was found this afternoon by a passerby at the People's Park, about 1km from where it was taken. It is understood to have been badly damaged.
Local clergy had earlier appealed for the statue's return.
“The baby Jesus is missing,” local parish priest Fr Gerry Langford told RTÉ. “There’s a big search going on around the city and everybody’s talking about it. Christmas is a time for miracles, so maybe the baby might turn up again.
“People normally have a great amount of respect and goodwill around this year. We don’t really know what happened and why somebody may have done this.”
He said somebody may have taken the figure "in a moment of madness". He promised that if it were returned, there would be "no questions asked".
Gardaí were checking CCTV footage to see if they can find out who was behind the theft.
The open-air crib had been built by local Fás trainees and was officially opened two weeks ago by the Mayor of Waterford, Cllr Pat Hayes.