Three men who raided tombs for jewellery remanded

THREE men who broke open tombs and interfered with corpses in a drunken search for jewellery were last night remanded in custody to await sentence in early December. Judge Carroll Moran told Tralee Circuit Criminal Court that it was "a shocking offence, offensive to any sense of decency". The three accused - Alan McNulty (29) of Moreen Road, Sandyford, Dublin; Matthew O'Donnell (24) of Aughills, Castlemaine, and no fixed abode; and John Smith (32) of Moreen Avenue, Sandyford, Dublin - had pleaded guilty. They are accused of damaging the tombs of Cyril McEnery and Timothy Browne at Raheala graveyard, Ballyduff, on the night of August 8 2003. They admitted disturbing the remains of Bridie Fitzmaurice, who had died eight months previously, and Jack Browne, who died in 1998. Smith also pleaded guilty to damaging the tomb of the late Bridie Fitzmaurice. The charge of disturbing bodies had not been before the courts since 1880 in London, the district court was told. Sergeant Brendan Sheehan said coffin lids had been prised open and the shrouds over the remains pulled back. He said the three admitted they had been "out of their heads" on drink and e-tablets and said they were looking for jewellery. The hurt it had caused to the deceased families had been "immense", Judge Moran said, and he offered his sympathy and condolences to the families of the bereaved. He remanded the three in custody until December 7. Two others had been dealt with under the juvenile liaison scheme in relation to the offences. - Anne Luceyin Tralee