Spate of church robberies continues as cathedral targeted during funeral

The latest in a series of recent church burglaries took place in Donegal on Sunday after a man broke into the sacristy of St Eunan’s Cathedral in Letterkenny and is alleged to have stolen €1,754.55 and £6.13 respectively while a funeral Mass was ongoing.

The theft forms part of the recent pattern of attacks on churches across the country, which includes the move by some churches in Cork and Kerry to tighten security measures after a number of churches were broken into in the region and an incident which resulted in two priests being threatened with an axe by raiders in Louth last month.

The accused in the burglary of St Eunan’s, Ireneusz Matras (43), is a Polish native and was charged with the offence at a sitting at Letterkenny District Court on Monday.

The burglary further highlights the growing need for a conversation addressing the vulnerability of some churches, particularly in rural Ireland.

Irish Examiner journalist Anne Lucey said some of the thieves in Kerry are quite clever. “In the Killarney churches the thieves were quite clever in that they literally lifted money from the boxes using a wire clothes hanger and Blu Tack, it was quite inventive.”

Last month, two priests were attacked and sprayed with bleach during a violent burglary at their home in Louth. A gang of four men armed with axes and a sledgehammer forced their way into the rear of the property.

Fr Vinod Kurian and Fr Oliver Stansfield were deeply shocked after their ordeal. A Garda source said: “It was a full blown aggravated burglary and a shocking attack. They put the fear of God into these two priests and assaulted them badly”.