A Co Limerick man has offered a reward for information surrounding the desecration of his infant grandson’s grave.

Gerry McDonagh broke down in tears describing finding the grave at Taylor’s Cross Cemetery, Fedamore, had been vandalised last Friday. A cross that had been erected at the baby’s grave was dumped at McDonagh’s home.

Baby Gary McDonagh died in August last year from sudden infant death syndrome.

McDonagh, who has started to conduct patrols of the graveyard himself, has offered a €2,000 reward for information.

“We looked at the grave and it was just demolished. My son knelt down at the grave and said ‘Who did this to my baby’s grave’. Oh god,” McDonagh told local radio station Live 95.

Jesus knows who did it, they have to sleep every night and get up every morning and they’ll remember all this – their brain, their conscience will kill hem in the end.

Appealing for information, he said: “I’m pleading with the people of Fedamore, and the community around me, or anybody that passed the grave on Friday evening.”

“The (gardaí) came to my house and took the cross, and took fingerprints off of it. There was a number of fingerprints on the cross so hopefully the gardaí can bring them to justice,” McDonagh said.

The gardaí that came were very nice and very polite. The gardaí that came to the grave that night were gentlemen. They went to the grave and were upset at it. The local garda, tears came in his eyes when I told him.

He couldn’t believe something like this could happen to an infant’s grave, or anybody’s grave.

Reliving the trauma

McDonagh also appealed for people with dash-cams in their cars, and who were in the vicinity of the Taylor’s Cross Cemetery, to contact gardaí.

“Since it happened I have been up (at the grave) nearly every half an hour. My family keep saying to me why do I keep going up to the grave, and I keep saying no one will ever touch that grave again,” he said.

McDonagh, weeping, said they were reliving the trauma of losing the infant boy all over again.

The day it happened we went out to the house and saw the baby dead in my (son’s) arms. I took that baby and put him in my arms and I begged god to bring him back to life.

“I said, he was only asleep, and I tried to warm and cuddle him and bring heat back into his body, to try to make him alive,” he added.

Christmas is coming up now and it’s so hard. I know someone out there that knows who did this and I’m begging them (to provide information). I’m giving a reward of €2,000 for the first person that can bring these people to justice.

“How could someone do that to anybody’s grave, especially a little baby. They even dug the earth up at the grave with their hands and (threw) it all over the place, and they smashed up everything.”

Local support

Gary McDonagh, the baby’s father, thanked people for their support.

“It’s like a bad dream for us, he passed away aged 3 months old sadly in his mother’s arms,” he wrote on Facebook.

McDonagh also asked that his baby son’s grave “be left alone”.

A Garda spokeswoman said: “Gardaí are investigating an incident where a grave was vandalised at Taylor’s Cross, Fedamore County Limerick on 8 November 2019.”

“Investigations are ongoing and no further information is available at this time.”

Investigating gardaí in Ballyneety can be contacted on 061 351102.