Sixteen republican graves including those of hunger striker Bobby Sands and the three IRA members killed by the SAS in Gibraltar in 1988 have been vandalised in an attack at Milltown Cemetery in west Belfast. Gerry Moriarty, Northern Editor, reports.
On Sunday night or early yesterday morning headstones were smashed and flowers laid by family members were strewn around the recently refurbished republican plot.
Police who were investigating a report of a suspicious object left at the plot initially discovered the damage. The report turned out to be a hoax but police found 16 graves which were badly damaged in an act of vandalism that would have taken quite some time to carry out.
The graves smashed included those of Bobby Sands, the Gibraltar Three - Mairead Farrell, Daniel McCann and Sean Savage - Sinn Féin president Mr Gerry Adams's recently deceased father, Gerard, and former hunger striker and Sinn Féin councillor Pat McGeown.
Local Sinn Féin councillor Mr Michael Browne described the attack as an outrage. He did not know who was responsible although some early suspicion fell on local "anti-social elements", he said.
While the area was monitored by PSNI surveillance cameras police said they did not have any footage that would reveal who was responsible as it was too dark at the time.
In January 2000 more than 20 granite memorial plaques were damaged, some beyond repair, in a similar attack.
"This is not simply a republican memorial, it is the actual graves of many IRA volunteers and Sinn Féin activists killed over the past 30 years," Mr Browne said.
"The monument was recently refurbished through the voluntary work of Belfast republicans. Republicans throughout the city will be angered at this turn of events and I am sure they will rally to the aid of the National Graves Association as they seek to rebuild the monument.
"Those responsible for this attack are beyond contempt and they need to reflect long and hard upon their actions," he said.
The chairman of Belfast National Graves Association, Mr Liam Shannon, said every headstone in the plot was damaged beyond repair. "I have spoken to many of the relatives of those buried in the plot and they are angry and upset. Around £12,000 worth of damage has been caused and we will set about raising this money immediately and re- storing the plot as a fitting tribute to our republican dead," he added.
West Belfast SDLP Councillor Ms Margaret Walsh condemned the attack as a wanton act of vandalism. "Unfortunately this is not the first time Milltown Cemetery has been targeted. No-one has the right to vandalise graves on sacred ground like this. The whole community must condemn this type of callous attack," she said.