Saint Brigid's Catholic Church, Kilcurry, Louth. Two Co. Louth priests were left traumatised when four raiders broke into their house and confronted them with hammers and an axe on Saturday, March 9.
The burglary comes less than a month after the parochial house in Athy, Co. Kildare was burnt down in a suspected arson, while the Diocese of Kerry has had to ask parishes to beef up security after a spate of thefts.
Kilcurry PP Fr Vinod Kurian said the experience was “upsetting”, describing how he was confronted by one man armed with an axe, while another confronted Fr Oliver Stanfield with a hammer. Two other men were trying to break into the safe with hammers.
“I managed to push him out from getting into my room, I locked the door and opened the window and started shouting for help, but no one heard me,” Fr Kurian told The Argus.
“I took out my phone and started to ring the Gardai, but by this time he had broken through the door and told me to give him the phone.”
Fr Kurian was taken downstairs to the safe and told to give them the keys, which he did, but they had already damaged the lock to the safe and couldn’t get in.
“They kept hammering at the safe and got in to take the weekly collection money and some sterling donations from the shrine,” he continued.
“Then they sprayed bleach on the two of us and around the office and left.”
It is the second time that intruders attempted to break into the safe, after a similar incident in 2022, Fr Kurian said.
The theft on March 9 came hot on the heels of a break-in and suspected arson of the parochial house in Athy, Co. Kildare.
The property was badly damaged and a man faces a criminal damage allegation.
Garda Ken McDonald alleged that James Rowan (45) stole cash and items, before causing hundreds of thousands of euro worth of damage to the premises. Mr Rowan has not admitted the offence.
Meanwhile, the Diocese of Kerry has had to tell parishes to beef up their security after churches in the region were targeted in a spate of burglaries.
“Some of our parishes have experienced recent burglaries and break-ins,” a spokeswoman for the diocese told The Irish Catholic, adding that the diocese’s property department have advised parishes to ensure “reasonable precautions are in place to protect parish property”.
Parishes were reminded that it they are required to protect their property under their parish insurance policy.
Suggested precautions include the installation of CCTV systems, install a security alarm system and establishing key and alarm code procedures.
