St Hilda's Church in Griffithstown left devastated after vandals smash stained-glass window

Members of St Hilda’s Church in Griffithstown were “devastated” to find the window, depicting the first vicar of Griffithstown Reverend James Dunn, had been broken.

The vandals had unscrewed a protective iron mesh covering the window before smashing it. It is thought that nothing has been taken from the church.

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Reverend Alison Littler said: “It’s absolutely awful. They have used a screwdriver to take the iron mesh off and smash a dedication to the first vicar of Griffithstown, Reverend James Dunn.

“We have been quite devastated by it.“We don’t know exactly when it happened, but it was between Tuesday evening and Friday morning. We think it probably happened in the early hours of Thursday morning as there was a lot of disruption in Griffithstown at that time.

(The smashed window at St Hilda's Church in Griffithstown. Picture: Jim Thompson.)

“We see this as a community church. Parents and grandparents in the area have been getting married here for more than 100 years.

“We are in the process of setting up an appeal online. A lot of people have been very upset about this.

“The thing that hurt me was that it was so deliberate. They have gone to the trouble of taking the iron mesh off before breaking the window.”

Any information regarding the vandalism can be reported to police on 101. Information can also be reporteanonymouslyly to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via crimestoppers-uk.org