Gardaí patrol Sligo cemetery to try to prevent vandalism
GARDAÍ are having to carry out night time patrols in Sligo’s biggest cemetery to try to put an end to a spate of vandalism.
A number of graves have been damaged recently and Gardaí are now carrying out patrols at the graveyard at different times throughout the nights.
Gardaí say the damage is being carried out during the hours of darkness.
“This is a low and insensitive act to damage any grave. It causes great distress to the family members.
“All they want is that their loved ones rest in peace. It will not be tolerated,” said a Garda spokesperson on the force’s Sligo/Leitrim Facebook page.
They have asked anyone with any information or see any suspicious activity in the vicinity of the cemetry to report it to Sligo Garda station 071-9157000.
A number of people left comments saying how relatives graves have been damaged and how distressing this was for families. Some also related how items had been stolen from graves. The issue has also given rise once again to the debate on whether or not the gates of the cemetery should be locked in the evenings as before. The County Council used to lock the gates at 9pm in the summer and 6pm in the winter but this led to complaints from people who claimed they were being denied access to the cemetery to visit graves and were having to scale the gates in order to gain access.