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THE VANDALISM CENTRE OF CAHIR
by Maureen Calvert
What is it about the beautiful St Paul’s Church in Cahir that attracts mindless vandalism so frequently? A Protestant, I have lived in this beautiful little town for long enough to be sure there is no prevailing sectarian feeling - but there are obviously some sick souls out there who cannon resist desecrating anything not only lovely but vulnerable.
Not that St Paul’s is particularly vulnerable. All the windows are covered with grills that have, in the past, proved to be adequate protection against stone-throwing. However, in the most recent attack, the grills were prised off and it is thought that one of the planks from the scaffolding that was in place was used to do the damage. The pictures show the windows affected: probably the worst news is that one of them is of stained glass. Now that these are boarded up, as well as those from a previous assault, St Paul’s could be mistaken for a derelict building.
And that is not the full extent of the damage. The vandals also pulled down a section of the stone wall at the rear of the Church. Why? It is not as if the grounds of the Church are very difficult to get into.
What must be particularly heart-breaking for the Rev. Arthur Carter and his wife Hilary is that after so much fund-seeking and fundraising to restore St Paul’s, at a time when the fabric of the Church was looking superb, this huge set-back has taken place. Not much point in floodlighting it now, is there?
St Paul’s is one of only two examples of Regency architect John Nash’s church designs extant – the other being at All Hallows Place in London. Completed in 1817, the church is one of the jewels in Cahir’s Heritage crown and an attack on it can be seen as an assault on the prosperity of Cahir, which is so reliant on visitors. This is to reduce the crime to a very basic level, but perhaps vandals might consider the damage they are doing to the people of Cahir as a whole when they are considering further desecration of the building. It is shameful.
The damage to the Church was done at about 2:30pm on Saturday 28th January. The people concerned were seen, but at the time it was not known that vandalism had taken place. Unfortunately, when builder Pat Jenkins was removing the scaffolding the following Monday morning, he fell, and is now in Waterford hospital. I would like to take this opportunity to wish him a speedy recovery.
As I write, various fundraising events are being put in place to assist the Church of Ireland to repair the recent damage. Cllr Seanie Lonergan is organising a giant Table Quiz to this end, and details of this and all other events will be published as soon as details are known.
  
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