GRADUATING STUDENTS are being blamed for smashed gravestones in the grounds of Tuam’s historic 12th-century Church of Ireland St Mary’s Cathedral.
Six gravestones were smashed and the sexton and curator at St Mary’s Cathedral Jarlath Canney believes the damage was done some weeks ago. As the damage is in an area of the grounds a distance away from the entrance, members of the congregation did not see it on their way to Sunday services until this weekend.
The damage was discovered when Mr Canney took a school group on a tour of the grounds in recent days.
“We reported it to gardaí and I set about getting a local monumental sculptor to assess the damage and come up with an estimate for repairing the gravestones,” he said.
He believes the vandalism happened on the night that a controversial graduation ball for final-year students from some of the town’s schools was cancelled. After venues in towns in Mayo and Roscommon refused at the eleventh hour to hold the ball, hundreds of students roamed the streets of Tuam on the night.
“I believe that was when the gravestones were smashed and it is a disgrace that young people would behave in such a manner and it also displays a lack of parental control and care,” Mr Canney said.
He said it should cost in the region of €1,200 to carry out the repairs, but local monumental sculptor Liam Kelly has agreed to do the work for €600. Some of the destroyed crucifixes are too badly damaged to be returned to their upright positions and will be placed lying on the graves.
Every effort will be made to restore the gravestones to their original condition they were carved by craftsmen in the 19th century, but it will be almost impossible to replicate their work.
Gardaí are appealing to the public for information.
Part of St Mary’s Cathedral dates to the 12th century and the building is a tourist attraction as it houses Tuam’s historic High Cross which was moved there from the town square in the early 1990s.
There has been periodic vandalism at the cathedral and its grounds over the years. Last summer a number of window panes were smashed by vandals.