PICTURE: Vandalism at Croppies Grave in Carlow 'completely disrespectful to those who died in 1798'

A councillor has hit out over an act of vandalism at the Croppies Grave monument in Carlow where flower beds were destroyed.

Cllr Fintan Phelan said: "A lot of work has gone into the upkeep of the Croppies Grave in Carlow by local volunteers and the Council.

"I was extremely disappointed to see that flowers there were pulled up. This act of vandalism is disgraceful and completely disrespectful to those who died in 1798 and to the people of Carlow who continue to look after the graves."

Croppies Grave is a monument that rises above the site of an old sand pit, where in the aftermath of the disastrous rising of the United Irishmen in 1798, the bodies of 640 slaughtered Carlow insurgents were thrown and covered in quicklime in a mass grave. 

Anthony Heaney of It's All About Carlow and his son, cleaned up the flower beds for the local community.