Appeal to families to collect items taken from Bandon graves

A LOCAL councillor is urging anyone in the Bandon area who is missing items from graves at Saint Patrick’s Graveyard to contact him as he has collected two boxes of stolen items.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Sean O’Donovan spoke of his and his family’s upset after they noticed items were missing from their late father’s grave last Thursday week.

‘My mum and I were up there around 5 pm that day and we noticed things like a statue missing from his grave. We then took a walk around and found one of the things which was broken,’ he told The Southern Star.

‘We then found a box under a hedge which contained, not only some of my father’s things, but other items from other graves.’

They spotted someone acting suspiciously in the graveyard and then the gardaí were called.

Cllr O’Donovan said that within 24 hours of that incident, he received numerous reports of people missing items from graves.

‘There were about 100 items missing from numerous graves, which was very upsetting for these families. We have managed to return about 60 items, but we still have 40 pieces here in my office on South Main Street,’ he told The Southern Star.

Cllr O’Donovan is asking people who are missing items from their family graves to make contact with him. ‘While a lot of items are religious, there are also sentimental items with no monetary value for anyone, including toy farm animals that were placed on a child’s grave,’ the councillor added.

He added that some items are still missing from his dad’s grave and they have no idea where they are.

‘It’s so upsetting for everyone involved, but at least we got the majority of the items back,’ he explained.

A Garda spokesperson confirmed that they are following a definite line of enquiry.

Cllr O’Donovan can be contacted at 086-2351013.