'These were Irishmen,' - solidarity event held at war memorial after vandalism incident

A piper played a lament at sunset - 6.16pm - in Kilkenny City on Wednesday evening as people gathered at the vandalised World War I memorial in Peace Park.

More than 40 people gathered on the cold evening at short notice in a show of solidarity, following the damage done to the monument in recent days. Thirty-two lit candles, representing every county in Ireland, were placed in front of the monument to the 822 people from the area who lost their lives in the conflict.

Ger Cody and John Joe Cullen both read poems, while Charlie Parsons played the Last Post on the bugle. Chairman of the Kilkenny Great War Committee Donal Croghan told the crowd the memorial would be repaired again and again if needs be.

"Whoever is doing the damage - you are wasting your time," he said.

"We won't lose the enthusiasm or the initiative to actually keep it repaired. It took us eight years to get this in place."  

Mr Croghan said the act did not reflect the ordinary decent people of Kilkenny.

"Whoever did this will probably never understand that on this memorial there are 66 teenagers, the youngest being 14. There are three fathers and sons. There are 29 sets of brothers," he said.

"These were Irishmen, they were Kilkenny men. Let's not forget that." 

He said the act represented 'a slap in the face for families with relatives on it'.  

The statue of a soldier in repose was damaged some time between Sunday and Monday afternoon. Kilkenny gardaí this evening confirmed they are forensically examining a vice grips and lump hammer recovered from the area in recent days.

Nearby CCTV footage is being reviewed, however, the area is not currently directly monitored.

"It's now a priority," said Mr Croghan.

"There are 29 locations within Kilkenny that there are cameras required, and this is number one location now."

He said it would not physically stop someone from doing something to the memorial, but "hopefully they will be named and shamed".

The cost of the CCTV for the area is estimated to be €10,000. Temporary cameras may be put in place until a more permanent solution is installed.