The woman whose parents’ ashes were stolen from her home in west Dublin has made a plea for their return, saying the thieves stole a part of her family.
Speaking this morning, Rosaleen Kelly said she is devastated following the robbery, which took place on New Year’s Eve while her family were out of the house at Deerpark Place, Tallaght.
Ms Kelly had spent the day in the Coombe maternity hospital in Dublin, where her daughter Stephanie (19) had given birth to a girl on Monday morning.
"I would like to think if they had a heart they would leave it into a church. They'd leave it some place someone could find it. It's no use to anybody," she told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
"Why would someone do that? They obviously don't have a heart to take something like that. It's my mam and dad and I just want them back," she said.
Ms Kelly said she noticed the urn was missing within a few seconds, as it had been on top of the sitting room television, which was also stolen.
"They might have took it and mistaken it for a jewellery box," Ms Kelly said. Ms Kelly said that everything of value from the house was stolen, from children's toys, televisions and radios to a bottle from the fridge.
Gardaí in Tallaght are dealing with the robbery and Ms Kelly said that they are in shock at the quantity of goods that were stolen from the house.
"We really don't know if we'll get them back, but there are so many of them [gardaí] on the case and everyone is looking out," she said.
Ms Kelly's parents, Joe and Rose Curley from Tallaght, died five and four years ago respectively. While their ashes were mixed and most of them scattered over cliffs in Ballybunion, Co Kerry, she and her siblings each kept a portion in urns in their homes.
The ashes were held in a black 6" square box with a glass top and two dolphin emblems on one side.
Anyone with information is being asked to contact Gardaí in Tallaght at 01 6666000 or through the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111.
