A three hundred year old chalice has been stolen from a church in County Laois.
The historic artefact was taken in broad daylight by a gang that
raided into St John’s Church in Killenard.
The intruders gained entry
to the sacristy and made off with a heavy-duty safe containing the
chalice.
Fortunately, the safe is not believed to contain other valuables but did have some church documents.
The theft is believed to have taken place in the morning
While the chalice is of huge historical value, it is not believed to
be of huge monetary value and there is now fear that the thieves will
seek to have it melted down for its scrap metal value.
This is the
second time the rural church has been targeted by thieves; late last
year, heating oil was stolen from the tank.
Local county councillor Tom Mulhall said the church, like most
others, was normally open for people to visit as they wish.
“This is
daylight robbery – there are a lot of churches and this kind of thing
can get more common,” he remarked.
Cllr Mulhall said it would have taken two or three people to carry
the safe away and it was believed the thieves had parked out of sight
near the village’s community centre while the robbed the church.
A spokesperson for Killenard parish said the significance of the
latest incident is “not so much the monetary value but the value of (the
chalice) in terms of history.”