Church vandalised

VANDALS broke into Ss John and Paul Church in the early hours of last Friday morning, causing damage to locks, windows and shrines.

Parish priest Father Tom Ryan came across the vandalism.
“Last Friday morning, I went to open the church and the place had been ransacked. They had broken in through a window and I think they went back out and broke another one after that to get into the sacristy. They raided shrines where they thought money would be and they went to the tabernacle and took out the Blessed Sacrament which was desecration. They also took some items and threw them outside,” he said.
Father Ryan said hundreds of euros of damage had been caused to doors, locks and windows but he believed the intruders hadn’t got away with more than €60 in cash.
He said that after the gardaí had left the scene, there was a great response from local people and a large number came to to help with the repairs, an effort which meant mass went ahead that evening.
Father Ryan said he had also received a huge number of calls from members of the public afterwards.
Shannon gardaí are investigating the incident and anyone who saw anything suspicious is asked to contact them on 061 365900.