Vandals have caused damage costing thousands of euro to the historic St Mary's Church of Ireland in Rathvilly, Co Carlow.
Seven stained glass windows were smashed in a weekend attack during which a stone surrounding a grave in the adjoining cemetery was broken into pieces and then used as missiles.
The weight of the stones also caused considerable damage to the pews inside the church - leaving them unusable for a scheduled Service yesterday morning. A Fine Gael member of Carlow County Council, Mr Michael Deering, who lives in Rathvilly, described the attack - thought to have occurred at 2.30 a.m. on Saturday - as "vile" and "disgusting".
"I am absolutely horrified and sickened that anyone could have done such a thing. I can't imagine who would want to carry out such a vicious and wanton attack. Local people are upset and annoyed by this attack on a small but respected group within our community.
"Relationships between the two religious traditions in Rathvilly are very good and while the Catholic Church was being renovated some years ago we used St Mary's for Mass."