Saturday, April 23, 2011

Gardai investigate tabernacle thefts in Carlow & Wexford

Gardaí in Wexford and Carlow and investigating a spate of church thefts that saw a gang of thieves make off with two tabernacles as well as other church property.
 
The gang, which is operating from Carlow and Wexford, struck at five different churches ahead of Easter week celebrations stealing tabernacles, records, ledgers and a priceless chalice.  

During the course of the crime spree, the gang lifted the safe from the church in Ballymitty in County Wexford, tabernacles from churches in Little Cullenstown in Wexford and Saint Mullins in Carlow and a priceless 300-year-old chalice from Ramsgrange in Wexford. 

Speaking this week Fr Colm Murphy of Little Cullenstown church, from where the tabernacle was stolen, said that it also contained, “A small number of hosts which were inside the tabernacle.” 

He added, “It certainly adds to the seriousness of the situation for us.  It's bad enough that these people would enter a church and steal the tabernacle but certainly the fact that there were a small number of hosts inside makes this worse.” 

His comments were echoed by Fr Brendan Cushen who is the parish priest of Ramsgrange.  

His church was broken into and the safe with the priceless chalice inside was stolen. 

The gang later dumped the safe with the chalice inside in the sea. 

A walker who found it at St Kearns Saltmills returned it to the church. 

Fr Cushen said, “The people of the parish were heartbroken because that chalice has been here since the 1740's.” 

It is also believed that a fifth church in Taghmon just outside Wexford Town would have suffered a similar fate but the gang was disturbed in the process. 

Gardaí in both Wexford and Carlow are continuing to investigate the thefts.