The driver of a stolen digger wreaked at least €100,000 worth of damage in Glasnevin Cemetery in the early hours of this morning in what is believed to be an act of vandalism.
The digger was driven over 39 headstones - some of which dated back to the 1830s - and driven into 160-year-old beech trees at sometime after 4.15 a.m.
An individual or group broke into the works compound in the cemetery to steal the digger. The digger had been imobilised, but, was remobilised by those involved.
Manager of the cemetery, Mr George McCullough said the it was driven in a manner "designed to cause maximum devastation".
Gardaí are still investigating the incident and no arrests have yet been made.
Mr Mcullough told ireland.comthat some of the headstones destroyed dated from the Victorian period of the 1830s to 1860s. "They can never be replaced. Some of those headstones were made by the finest Irish stonemasons and monumental artwork like that can never be replaced. The damage is incalculable".
"We've had broken headstones before, but, some of those damaged last night look like a jigsaw puzzle," he added.
He put a conservative estimate on the damage done to headstones that could be repaired at €40,000. The digger, which is now a write-off, will cost the cemetery €30,000 to replace and he said the cemetery is looking at an immediate bill of at least €100,000.
Families with relatives buried in Glasnevin have been phoning the cemetery all morning in an effort to find out if they had been affected. Mr McCullough said there was palpable relief in the voices of those who found out their relatives graves had not been damaged.
In April 1997 about 100 headstones were desecrated in a rampage by a gang of youths causing €190,470 worth of damage.
There are approximately 1.5 million people buried in the cemetery, representing more than 20 generations.
Glasnevin Cemetery is the largest cemetery in Ireland and first opened its gates in 1832 after a series of events prompted Daniel O¹Connell to establish a burial place for the Catholic people of Ireland.
Charles Stewart Parnell, Daniel O'Connell and Eamon de Valera are buried there.