This article is from page 3 of the 2007-12-04 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 3 JPG
THE grave of two infant sisters who died two years ago has been severely damaged by vandals.
The incident occurred two weeks ago in Quilty graveyard at the grave- side of Neola and Nova O’ Loughlin.
Thieves removed a stone from the grave and also destroyed pictures, a wreath and presents left by parents Patrick and Sharon O’ Loughlin.
Patrick’s sister discovered the dam- age on a visit to the grave two weeks
ago. The family repaired some of the damage caused to the grave only to return a day later to find the grave had again been disturbed.
Patrick O’Loughlin, who lives in Quilty, explained the family were shocked with the extent of the dam- age.
“My sister told me about it and fair play to her she went back with my brother and his girlfriend to tidy it up a bit. They actually found a bit of stone that they hadn’t taken. They shaped it into a heart at the front. But
they came back the next night and de- stroyed it again. They even destroyed the wreath that was laying there.” Patrick explained how presents left by he and his wife to mark their daughter’s birthday were also stolen. “They did a colossal amount of damage. I used to go back there six nights a week to visit the grave. My wife and myself used to leave presents back there for the girls’ birthday. ‘They broke the angels that were on it, and the pictures. They stole water bottles. I was sickened by it.”
Neola and Nova O’Loughlin were both born premature on December 12, 2005 and died the day after their birth.
Patrick said the family was prepar- ing to mark the two-year anniversary of the girl’s death.
‘“That’s what makes it extra hard. They will be gone two years next week and for someone to come along and do that to a child’s grave 1s just awful. It wasn’t the fact that they stole the stone, they could take all of it for I care, it was the fact that they
came back and destroyed the wreath and pictures. That’s what really sick- ened me.”
The grave was the only one dam- aged in the graveyard. Patrick said, “You would clearly know that it was a child’s grave.
“There were two angels on the headstone. In taking the stones they did awful damage.”
The stone that was taken in the rob- bery was a very distinctive marble type stone, salmon and orange in colour.