The head tour guide at Ardfert Cathedral in County Kerry has asked
members of the public to be vigilant after a number of acts of vandalism
there in recent times.
According to Donal Stack, in the most recent act of vandalism,
vandals came close to exposing human remains when they ripped apart the
top of a historic tomb.
The vandals partly demolished the stone tomb,
and the capstones of the tomb, dating from the 18th century and
adjoining the wall of the Cathedral were pulled off by vandals, leaving
it in a state of disarray.
Stack said, “We've had some acts of vandalism in recent months, but
this is clearly something nobody wants to see. We're prepared to put up
with a tolerable level of littering, but we've had graffiti in recent
weeks, we've had windows cracked and the attack on the tomb is
particularly disappointing.”
In relation to the attack on the tomb he said, “If they'd gone a bit
further they would have exposed the contents, but thankfully, that
didn't happen. I don't think it's an attempt at grave robbing but just
messing by certain individuals.”
“We would just ask people to be more vigilant around the Cathedral particularly late at night.”
Ardfert Cathedral is built on a site of a monastery founded by Saint
Brendan The Navigator in the 6th century and the earliest church ruins
on the current site are from the 12th century.
The site is now managed by the Office of Publics Works (OPW) and is a popular tourist destination.