City Cemetery Vandalism

City Cemetery Vandalism

27 April 2024

Derry City and Strabane District Council has confirmed that a serious incident of vandalism has taken place overnight in the Kildrum section of the City Cemetery. Several graves have been vandalised, and wreaths and momentums removed and damaged. While we are currently not aware of any damage to headstones, relatives who identify this on their family grave are asked to bring this to the attention to the cemetery staff.

Council staff have been on site since early this morning carrying out a clean-up and repairs and providing support to families impacted by this very distressing and upsetting incident.

Families affected are being advised to contact cemetery staff with any queries regarding missing or damaged items from graves as ongoing efforts are being made to store items so they can be identified and claimed by their owners.

This is obviously a very distressing and upsetting incident for the families affected and its Council's understanding that the PSNI have identified a suspect and are following a definitive line of enquiry. For that reason we can't provide any further information at this time.

The Council would encourage anyone with any information in relation to this incident to contact the PSNI directly.

Council would also like to reassure the public that the peace and sanctity of the City Cemetery remains a priority for Council going forward.

Ends