Funerals and other religious services in a Waterford parish are continuously being interrupted by someone using a loudspeaker to blast sexual vulgarities on a loop into the church grounds.
Mourners in Kilgobnet near Dungarvan have been devastated in recent weeks, having to bury their loved ones in the local graveyard to the sound of profanities being loudly broadcast nearby.
The looped recording can also be heard by parishioners while the priest is saying Mass, causing great offence and discomfort among churchgoers in the tiny rural parish.
Gardaí have launched an investigation into the broadcast of “offensive audio material” in Kilgobnet, but it’s unclear how the issue can be addressed because the volume of the recording is below the level that would be considered noise pollution.
Recently a Garda presence was required in the graveyard during a particularly sensitive funeral to ensure that the person in possession of the loudspeaker did not transmit offensive recordings during the burial.
A local parishioner told the Irish Mirror that the community was angry and disgusted at what they described as a “long-running dirty trick” on the people of the community.
“I don’t know why this person is doing this, or how they can be stopped. Even the guards don’t seem to know. When grieving families are burying their loved ones, the last thing they need to hear are words like ‘w****r’ being blasted out,” they said.
“You can even hear it inside the church during Mass. God forgive me, it’s like something from The Omen. That type of language has no place in or near a house of God. I don’t know what this person has against us but can they not let us bury our dead in peace without having to listen to this filth over and over again?”
It’s understood that the person in possession of the loudspeaker begins broadcasting profane recordings to coincide with church services – especially funerals, as the burial takes place in the neighbouring cemetery.
A spokesperson for An Garda Síochána told the Irish Mirror that investigations are continuing into the matter.
“Gardaí are investigating reports of offensive audio material being played on a continuous basis in the vicinity of Kilgobnet, Dungarvan, County Waterford in recent weeks,” they confirmed.