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FOOTAGE OF THE Carrauntoohil cross being felled is being examined by gardaí, TheJournal.ie can reveal.
A video of the five-metre monument being cut down with an angle grinder was sent to and viewed by this website today.
The structure, which was erected on the mountain in 1976, was cut down on or around the 22 November. Gardaí have said that a commemorative plaque was also taken from the summit.
The footage also contains a number of anti-Catholic Church sentiments, indicating that the person or persons involved took this action as a form of protest. The messages focus on the number of Irish primary schools which are run by the Catholic Church.
The dramatic video has been passed onto detectives in Killorglin who said it was a “new development” in the investigation.
The cross was re-erected over the weekend despite some objections from an atheist group which asked for planning permission to be obtained.
It said that the cross did not represent the whole community.
However, other stakeholders were happy to see it being resurrected. Mountaineering Ireland said there has been a cross on the mountain since the early 1950s with the current one in place since 1976.
It believes the monument was part of the “heritage and landscape” of Ireland’s highest peak, adding that the cross had been cut down without debate or the owners’ permission.
The cross is on privately owned land and Mountaineering Ireland says landowners have always allowed recreational access to Carrauntoohil.
When the felled cross was discovered, the local community gathered to decide how to replace it. Groups said they were inundated with offers of help to restore the landmark.
Condemned
The release of the footage has been condemned by local Fine Gael TD Brendan Griffin who said it added a “further sinister element to the incident”.
“What can we expect next? Will these people start burning down churches or attacking people on their way to mass?” he said in a statement.
“This type of behaviour is simply not acceptable. In this country we advocate an attitude of tolerance and understanding of peoples’ beliefs. There is no acceptance of people who take the law into their own hands and show absolutely no remorse by seeking further publicity.
The cutting down of the cross at the summit of Carrauntoohil was an act of shameless vandalism and seeking admiration is utterly disgraceful.
“I would like to commend all the local people involved in putting the cross back in its rightful place so quickly after the incident and I welcome the fact that Gardaí are investigating the footage. I wish them every success in bringing the perpetrators to justice.”
First published 2.45pm
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Could never understand why the Dutch took such a direction considering the countries population lives in very close proximity to each other. Strange going into a premises and no one wearing masks. Something was going to give.
@Jason Healy: Spot on.
@Jason Healy: what’s so strange about going into a premises where nobody wears a mask. ? Surely that’s normal, or at least it is, until tonight 22.00 hrs. All the government has done is drive people together in circumstances that are less open to scrutiny. My place will be open as a soeak easy for all upcoming matches, starting with Celtic v Rangers this weekend. We’d have been better off in the boozer but you reap what you sow. No boozer, people will congregate then without scrutiny. So what has that achieved.?
The WHO is saying that lockdowns are not the solution, that they cause more problems than they solve – I thought we were supposed to listen to the experts? Maybe the WHO been pulled down from their pedestal; I must have missed that memo.
@Fintan Mac Giolla Pharic: “Lockdowns just have one consequence that you must never ever belittle, and that is making poor people an awful lot poorer” Dr David Nabarro WHO
@Fintan Mac Giolla Pharic: you’ve just cherry picked one thing that he said and ignored the rest of the interview. Did you watch the full thing? He outlined a number of reasons why lockdown would be warranted.
@The Guru: Please enlighten us – he made it very clear that a lockdown was only warranted at the early stages to consolidate, and after that prolonged lockdowns cause more damage. The lockdown prescriptions being advocated 6 months into the pandemic after we’ve gone through a consolidation phase run contrary to the advice from the WHO.
@Fintan Mac Giolla Pharic: here’s an article that explains it further: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2020/10/13/who-warning-about-covid-19-coronavirus-lockdowns-is-taken-out-of-context/
@Fintan Mac Giolla Pharic: lockdowns work extremely well as proven in many countries… New Zealand, Vietnam..etc etc.
@Fintan Mac Giolla Pharic: Watch the interview in full. Short term necessary, long term bad. Simple.
@Fintan Mac Giolla Pharic: he actually said that lockdowns shouldn’t be the primary measure, not that they shouldn’t be used at all.
@Darren Sheridan: exactly. They stated that short term to get numbers back under control would be warranted but not long term. Increase of numbers would fall into thst category.
@Fintan Mac Giolla Pharic: We don’t hear any alternative suggestions from you?
@windbag: lies have worked better then lock down
The sale of cannabis, unfortunately Ireland is so backward it’ll take another few decades before its legalised here, garda resources being wasted arresting people with cannabis.
@SB: if they’re arresting suppliers then it’s good use of resources. There aren’t too many normal Joe’s peddling hash in cellophane bags on street corners.
@GrumpyAulFella: “peddling hash on street corner” haha. I’ve seen a few of your comments now but that proves it, you do in fact live u nd er a rock. Peo ple like you have never lived, no wo nder you’re a lockdown lover.
Lockdowns don’t work https://youtu.be/gJq8MBgYJ4Q
@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: This has been explained, lockdowns definitely work but they aren’t a long term solution.
@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: not you again… get a life man..
@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: but they do. Uncontrolled opening up is the problem.
@windbag: you are a wind bag…. Delaying the inevitable. Let the bloody thing run its course. Social distance…. But closing things is going to cause more harm than good.
@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: and that’s why there closing down up in northern Ireland… but you know best eh..
Intelligent Lock-o-Down , amateur hour in the journal yet again ,
@Thomas Ormsby: What do you mean, thats what everyone calls them now, a locko-down, way more fun than that old word.
The Dutch response was way more pragmatic than what we’ve seen in Ireland. The country was almost operating normally, with all bars, cafes, restaurants open, with the only restriction being a strict 10pm closure.
So its sad to see them fall back on Lockdown, which dosen’t really work at all. People who point to China as the proof of strict lockdown working, like Sam McConkey need their head examined.
Does he really think you could imprison people in their homes and weld up the doors in a liberal democracy like Ireland,
Of course they can do that in China. Its a brutal dictatorship.
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