Ballynacargy Church fire: 'It was very deliberate'

Security is being ramped up at Ballynacargy Church after it appeared to be targeted by arsons last week.

It happened on the night of Thursday, April 18, when a candle was lit on the High Altar next to dried flowers which then went on fire.

The fire was put out by two nearby parishioners who were alerted to it by an alarm and, thankfully, minimal damage was done to the church.

It was the second such incident to take place in the area in recent months as candles were also set alight on the High Altar of Sonna Church.

In a post on Facebook, the parish said it appears these fires were lit intentionally.

“We can only conclude; that this is to cause damage and is an act of sacrilege to the Blessed Sacrament and the House of God. Therefore, for the foreseeable future, our churches will be locked and alarmed for security reasons.”

Cllr Johnnie Penrose said it was “an awful act to do”.

“It’s all cleaned off again now and the place is back to normal,” he said.

“They are very, very lucky that it wasn’t more serious and the whole place didn’t go up [in flames].

“The church needs to be locked up now for security reasons which is a shame to have to do that – we definitely need security cameras out there too.”

A parish source told the Westmeath Examiner they believe the fire was no accident.

“It was very deliberate,” they said.

“There is no other way around it. You know what you are doing when you light candles on the High Altar next to dry flowers.”

They also said the targeting of churches is a “sad reflection of where we are as a society”.

“We have worked so hard as a parish to fundraise all the time for restoration work,” they said.

“No matter what your faith is, churches are sacred spaces, and you should have a modicum of respect."

The incidents, while upsetting, will not deter parishioners from attending their local church, the parish source said.

“We managed to have mass on rocks years ago, so we'll manage this too.”

When the news about the fire was posted on social media, parishioners expressed their shock and anger.

"So very sorry to hear of this! You've all worked so hard to refresh both churches and my heart breaks that someone has so much hate in their heart to try to destroy something so precious. I'm so thankful it didn't spread further," one poster wrote.

"That’s absolutely disgusting God forgive them who carried out this horrific crime," another poster said.