GARDAI PROBE VANDALISM AT ST DAVNET'S HOSPITAL CHURCH

Gardai confirmed yesterday that they are pursuing a definite line of enquiry into the vandalism at the Roman Catholic church in the grounds of St Davnet’s Psychiatric Hospital in Monaghan Town on Saturday last.
The perpetrators broke a window to gain access to the church, where they discharged fire extinguishers and caused other criminal damage.
Sunday morning Mass at the church had to be cancelled because of the incident.
The vandalism was roundly condemned at Monday night’s meeting of Monaghan Town Council.
Independent councillor Seamus Treanor expressed his shock that the church in the grounds of St Davnet’s was desecrated at the weekend, linking the incident to the fact that there were “five different drinking dens” around the area.
He called on the HSE to install proper security measures in the grounds of the hospital, including the deployment of CCTV equipment.
Colr Treanor said that for such an incident to occur in the grounds of a psychiatric hospital was “the lowest of the low”, and branded the attack on the place of worship as “a scandal”.
Donal Sherry said that in the past the Town Council had faced a “tug-of-war situation” in its efforts to have the HSE repair public lighting in the hospital grounds to provide additional safety to those walking there at night.
“The Gardai should be in there and rooting those people out,” Colr Sherry stated of those who were engaging in public drinking and anti-social behaviour in the hospital grounds.