The vandalising of a wall in Glasnevin Cemetery commemorating the Irish and British people killed during the 1916 Rising was "insult to the memory of all of those who died", Minister for Heritage Heather Humphreys has said.
The Minister said she “absolutely and totally condemned” the attack by vandals who threw paint over the memorial which remembers the 488 people who died, including British soldiers.
"I was saddened and sorry to hear it," she said after addressing a Creative Ireland seminar in Cavan.
She urged the Glasnevin Trust to continue its work in remembering all those who died. It is planned that the wall will mark all those who died in the War of Independence and the Civil War in chronological order according to when they died.
The Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, Michael Jackson, expressed "sadness and distress" over the incident.
“It is a historic record of all those who died in the rebellion from whatever perspective they came – we remembered them all. The families involved in this initiative showed great courage.”
The Glasnevin Trust has issued a statement describing it as “an act of callous vandalism”.
“Glasnevin Trust is currently engaging with the gardaí on the matter and will not be commenting further at this time,” it stated.
The paint has since been removed by cemetery staff but the process has led to the gold inlay being removed from some of the lettering.
The inlay is completely missing from some of the names and slightly from others. The names damaged include those of civilian, rebel and army casualties.
