by Alan Jacques
LIMERICK Fine Gael councillor Daniel Butler has pleaded with thieves who stole flowers from his father’s grave last weekend to stop this “sickening” activity.
The City West councillor received a phone call from his mother Bernadette last Sunday telling him that flowers left on his father’s grave by his sister Susan had been stolen from Castlemungret Cemetery.
Daniel’s father Richard, a former Cathaoirleach of Limerick County Council, died in December 2013 at the age of 56 after battling cancer.
Cllr Butler told the Limerick Post that he was “saddened” to learn of the theft and said that his mother and sister were “upset after it”.
“I would compare it to a burglar entering your property and robbing something. You just feel your private space has been violated,” he commented.
Following the robbery of flowers from his father’s grave in Castlemungret Cemetery, Cllr Butler has spoken with council officials to raise his concerns in terms of security and monitoring the situation.
He is also calling on the local authority to possibly look at recording complaints centrally to try find patterns and possible culprits.
“I want to plead to these people, although it will probably be in vain, that if they have any sense of respect that they would cease this sickening activity. Secondly, I want to plead to members of the public visiting friends or relatives graves to be alert to this activity and to report it to the relevant authorities,” said Cllr Butler.
