‘An act of callous vandalism’: Paint thrown over 1916 memorial wall in Ireland
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‘An act of callous vandalism’: Paint thrown over 1916 memorial wall in Ireland

A REMEMBERANCE wall listing the names of all those who lost their lives during the 1916 Easter Rising has been vandalised.

The ‘Necrology Wall’, in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin, was erected last year as part of the 1916 centenary commemorations.

Paint was thrown at the wall, sometime on Saturday night or in the early hours of Sunday, and was discovered at 9.30am yesterday when staff opened the cemetery to the public.

The wall was covered up and police were called to inspect the wall forensically before a clean-up operation could get underway.

The Glasnevin Trust, which operates the historic graveyard, condemned the act of vandalism as “callous”.

"Glasnevin Trust can confirm that the Necrology Wall, unveiled as part of the 1916 centenary commemoration and listing the names of all who lost their lives in the Rising, was vandalised at Glasnevin Cemetery during the night," a cemetery spokesman said.

"This was an act of callous vandalism. Glasnevin Trust is currently engaging with gardaí on the matter and will not be commenting further," he added.

Gardaí at Mountjoy are investigating the incident.

The Necrology Wall courted controversy last year over the inclusion of the names of 119 British soldiers who were casualties of the 1916 rebellion.

It was also victim of a spelling error in which the Irish word for ‘rising’ – Éirí – was mistakenly spelt ‘Eírí’.

The defacement of the wall is the second time in recent months that the Dublin cemetery has been targeted by vandalism.

In January, the grave of former president and Taoiseach Éamon de Valera was damaged with paint.

A man, in his 50s, was arrested for that offence and pleaded guilty to criminal damage.