Anger at vandalism and littering in Athlone cemetery

The littering and vandalism of a cemetery in Athlone has been cited by a local resident.

Graffiti has recently been scrawled on a number of gravestones at the old Abbey graveyard on Abbey Road in Athlone with littering also being an issue there. Used drinking cans, bottles, shopping bags and bin bags of rubbish can be found strewn within the ruins of the former Franciscan church.

Athlone native Alan Kelly said that he was “very sad to see these grave monuments vandalised like this.”

“In recent years I enjoyed walking around those old ruins and gravestones. This was the first time that I saw the spray painted gravestones which shocked me.

Alan added that the sight of the vandalism really took him by surprise. “I'm a historian, so I was saddened to see what is part of our local heritage defaced in this way.”

The Franciscan Church, in ruins since the 19th century, is thought to have been built around 1690, according to the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. It is set in extensive grounds with remains of a graveyard and grave markers dating from the late 17th century, but the majority dates from the 19th century.