Vandalism carried out at Mount St Joseph Cemetery in Rahoon has been described as "absolutely disgusting" by Mayor of the Galway City Council, Mike Cubbard.
Cllr Cubbard's criticism comes after a number of ornaments on graves in Section X of the cemetery had been damaged between the hours of 4.30pm on last Thursday and 8.30am on Friday.
He said; "It's absolutely disgusting to think some individuals see it as acceptable to cause this damage. Rahoon cemetery is a sacred place and this damage has caused hurt to many families.
"I hope the gardaí are successful in their investigation and I would encourage anyone with any information that will help them progress to come forward."
A spokesperson for the Galway City Council said there will be moves to make the cemetery more secure at night time.
The spokesperson said; "We will be taking actions to make Mount St Joseph Cemetery more secure, including fencing off a low wall area. It is the of the opinion of the gardaí and ourselves that there was no targeting of specific graves but an act of wanton and mindless vandalism.
"We can confirm that no gravestones were damaged but a number of ornaments were. We estimate between 10 and 20 graves were affected."
The spokesperson also said vandalism in the city's cemetery was not a regular occurrence and asked anyone with information to contact Salthill Garda Station who are investigating the incident.
