An eight hundred year old religious artefact has been stolen from a church ruins in County Wexford.The priceless stone holy water font disappeared from the ruins of Bannow Church, which dates from the 13th century.
The theft, which is being investigated by Gardaí, as outraged historians and conservationists.
Local historian and author Billy Colfer said there was grave concern in the area about the theft and he was contacting the Office of Public Works.
“It is an important artefact and it is a criminal offence to interfere with a national monument,” he pointed out.
“It is shocking to think that someone would take such a thing -it's an important part of the area's history and heritage,” Mr Colfer added.
Bannow church was an early Norman construction and it is designated as a heritage site by the National Monuments and Historical Properties Service.
The church is located near Bannow Island, close to where the first Normans landed in Ireland in 1169 and is on the site of a town that subsequently disappeared under sand dunes.
In its day, the church was a parish church dedicated to St. Mary.
Local tradition holds that water from the stolen font was a cure for warts.
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