Thieves stripped a new lead roof from a 140-year old monastery and church in Dundalk, leaving both exposed and damaged by torrential rain at the weekend.
St Joseph's Redemptorist Church and Monastery on St Alphonsus Road in the Louth town is undergoing redevelopment work, expected to cost in excess of €1 million.
Fr Michael Cusack, rector at St Joseph's, said the work had started in May and the work on the new roof had almost been completed, when thieves stripped the lead off it on Wednesday last week.
“We knew already there had been a spate of thefts here in Dundalk where lead has been robbed off public buildings during the night,” he said. “We were being vigilant...but we came in on the morning of the 6th to find it had all been stripped. It was three weeks or four weeks of work – it was in prep for tiling. It was very close to finishing the roofing part,” he said.
Fr Cusack said the “whole lot” had been lifted and there had been rainfall damage.
Security
The contractors had restarted and the damage was covered on their insurance policy, he added. “We’re back after it again because it’s covered . . . But it’s really the loss of time and it’s the loss of heart, where you feel that stuff just can’t be left alone when you’re trying to get on with your own work.”
Fr Cusack said there was now security at the site. Gardaí were called in and some CCTV footage was in their possession, he said.