Three men who disturbed remains and damaged tombs in a drunken search for jewellery in a Co Kerry graveyard, were remanded on bail to await a report from the Probation Service, at Tralee Circuit Court yesterday.
The coffin lids had been prised open and discarded on the floor of the above-ground tombs and the shrouds over the remains pulled back when gardaí arrived to investigate.
The men had been in custody since mid-November to await sentencing for what Judge Carroll Moran called "a revolting crime" and a very serious matter.
What they had done was "sick" the judge said yesterday.
"This particular offence has caused a considerable amount of revulsion in the community.
"It is a particularly unpleasant and revolting crime," Judge Moran said.
When a person died, they should be allowed to expect to rest in peace, the judge added.
The offence caused the greatest trauma imaginable to the bereaved, the judge said.
The three men, Alan McNulty (29), Moreen Road, Sandyford, Dublin, Mathew O'Donnell (24), Aughills, Castlemaine, Co Kerry, and no fixed abode, and John Smith (32), Moreen Avenue, Sandyford, Dublin, had pleaded guilty to damaging the tombs of Cyril McEnery and Timothy Browne at Raheala Graveyard on the night of August 4th, 2003.
They had further pleaded guilty to disturbing and or interfering with the remains of Bridie Fitzmaurice, who had died eight months previously, and to disturbing the remains of Jack Browne who had died in 1998.
Smith also pleaded guilty to damaging the tomb of the late Bridie Fitzmaurice.
Previous sittings of the court had heard no valuables had been removed.
The charge of disturbing bodies had not been before the courts since a case in 1880 in London.
Judge Moran said there had been no forensic examination in the case and the prosecution relied on the men's admissions.
They had pleaded guilty; if they had not the case would have gone on for a number of weeks and increased the suffering of the bereaved.
The accused were very drunk at the time, the judge said.
"It's very difficult to know what to do with this particular case.
"They have spent three weeks in custody. What they did was sick," Judge Moran said.
He put the matter back to February 22nd for a report from the Probation Service.
"But they are not out of the wood by any means. I am not making any promises that they won't ultimately go to jail," the judge added.
Relatives of the deceased whose tombs and coffins were interfered with were in court.