Maher’s side of Kilbanivane Cemetery made national headlines last January as it was continuously under water during the unusually heavy rainfalls of that time.
It has crept back on to the agenda locally over the past week or so after items of ‘grave furniture’ were either broken, misplaced within the walls or dumped out over boundary walls and in to neighouring meadows. Its counterpart across the road, Pembroke’s, didn’t escape either.
Plaques and plates of a personal and religious nature were smashed and arranged in a pile at the south-eastern corner of the cemetery and across the road-side gate.
Locals, whose family belongings and graves had been included in the latest outbreak of this type of attack, were naturally upset.
However, their anger and upset was tinged with a sense of pity for the state of mind of the person, believed to be a local, who would see fit to do “this kind of wreck” as one person put it.
A local woman confirmed that this is the second such outbreak of this behavior in a couple of years.
“Maher’s meadow was scattered with glass and bits of marble and small statues there after the last attack. I hope the misfortune gets help soon because this is serious. People are getting very upset when they see their bits and pieces broken and scattered around the place – and you can’t blame them. I don’t know what they can do about it though,” she said.
A spokesperson at the local Garda station confirmed this Sunday evening that although no one had come and made an official complaint about attacks on their graves some people had brought it to their attention.
“We have cautioned a local person about a similar attack previously and the present situation is that we have placed that person in a situation where help will be made available to them as of now,” the spokesperson said.
A strange incident was brought to my attention at about the turn of the new year. There, at the same road-side gate was an arrangement of nine aubergines and nine copper coins.
Killarney Road woman, Áine Behan sent me the photograph here and a request to anyone out there who can throw light on the meaning of the arrangement and if it has any meaning in the context of where it was placed.
