CATHOLIC graves in a cemetery in Holywood, Co Down, have been damaged by vandals. One headstone was knocked over and 18 others were daubed with slogans at Redburn Cemetery on Christmas Eve, Suzanne Breen reports from Belfast.
The broken headstone marked the grave of James McCartan, who was killed by loyalists in a "romper room" murder in 1972. None of the graves in the Protestant section of the cemetery was damaged.
Council workers were called in to clear up the damage as families arrived to place Christmas wreaths on graves. It is understood the attack was not sectarian. The RUC believes it is linked to an argument in a local family.
The former mayor of North Down, Ms Susan O'Brien, who visited the graveyard on Christmas Day, said she was horrified by the destruction.
"As I walked up, I was appalled to see a lot of the graves painted and surrounds pulled apart," she said.
"It is the first time in my memory that this has happened in Holywood and to happen at Christmas when people come to visit the graves of their loved ones is truly appalling."
The RUC said that it was an isolated incident.