Waterford graveyard rises back to life following vandalism scandal
The Knights Templar Graveyard in Kilbarry. Picture by Joe Evans
A local graveyard has been restored through community support following an incident that saw a 1700s tombstone smashed in an act of vandalism on Easter Sunday.
The Knights Templar Graveyard is located in Kilbarry. Gardaí are actively reviewing CCTV footage from the surrounding area with hopes of catching the culprit.
Local man Brian Whelan, who runs a building conservation service ‘Set in Stone’, stepped in to restore the tombstone.
“(Brian Whelan) came out to meet us on the Monday night, and then he took the stone away with him, and repaired it, and brought it back and set it down into the graveyard there again now, and it's absolutely amazing,” said graveyard volunteer Maggie Moody.
The parish of St. Paul’s had initially tried to hold a service at the graveyard in 2022, but found the garden too overgrown. That prompted a community callout to help reclaim the graveyard. Ms Moody has been on board ever since.
“Special. That's the only word I can describe it,” she said when describing what it’s like to volunteer in the graveyard.
“It's like you're not in a graveyard; it's a haven in an industrial park, it's just beautiful. And the fact, excuse the pun, it’s been brought back to life, it's just beautiful. There's such a calm out there.”
A UNESCO delegation recently visited the graveyard as part of a trip commemorating Waterford’s status as a 'Learning City'.
