Over 100 incidents of vandalism to historic properties in two years

Ken Foxe

More than one hundred incidents of deliberate damage to national historic properties were recorded in the past two years, including gates being rammed, "scorched earth" attacks, and oil poured over an ancient stone.

The Office for Public Works (OPW) also logged the theft of a 1916 information panel, sand poured over staff toilets, and an incident where scaffolding and planks were broken up and thrown in a river.

There were 14 separate reports from Castletown House and Donaghcumper House in Kildare, including one spree that caused over €500,000 worth of damage.

That incident in May saw four vehicles overturned, CCTV cameras damaged, and a teleporter driven into the River Liffey.

Other incidents from that location – which has been the subject of a major access dispute – included three cases of fire damage to staff buildings or toilets.

At Castletown House itself, a contractor had a phone knocked from their hand, shattering the screen, while scrambler bikes tore up grass around a temple area.

There were six reports of "scorched earth" incidents at Marino Casino in Dublin, where fires were deliberately set on the grounds of the historic house.

At Castledermot Abbey, somebody scratched their name onto a tomb slab while another carved writing into stones at the Hill of Tara.

In August of this year, there was another report from Tara that oil had been poured all over the Lia Fáil, the coronation stone for the High King of Ireland.

The gates of Áras an Uachtaráin were damaged in two separate incidents last year, once in a ramming and a second time when a vehicle reversed into them.

There were three reports from the Custom House: a spray paint attack, a minor graffiti incident, and a fire lit on the steps.

The OPW logged four graffiti incidents at Ferns Castle in Wexford, and two similar cases were reported at the War Memorial Gardens.

At Kells Priory in Kilkenny, a person – or a group of people – broke up planks and threw scaffolding into King’s River.

Other cases logged included a fire set at the ancient Loughcrew Cairns and two unauthorised entries to Mallow Castle in Cork.

There were three dozen incidents in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, including a gate forced open, a tree stump set on fire, and a torched motorbike.

The OPW also logged twenty cases of damage or vandalism at St Stephen’s Green.

Among those incidents were the theft of a 1916 exhibition panel, broken playground equipment, and a catalogue of graffiti cases.

Asked about the records, the OPW said they had no comment to make.