Locals in one Co Clare village are said to be disturbed and traumatised following the removal of flowers and mementos from graves in recent months.
There have seen several incidents of items - ranging from flowers to children's toys and other mementos - being taken from graves in Tulla graveyard.
Local parish priest Father Brendan Quinlivan has described it as 'hurtful and terribly traumatic' for the local community, saying the situation has now being happening 'on and off' for several months.
Speaking on Lunchtime Live, Fr Brendan said items have been from the graves of adults and some children.
He said: "It's causing an awful lot of upset and no little trauma in the community.
"In one case, two memorial plants were taken from a grave on the day of the first anniversary of somebody. The family were coming to visit, of course, on that day.
"The guards have made contact with me... they're doing their best. But it's very hard to be vigilant - it's an extensive graveyard that covers an entire hillside at the top of the town."
He said there are no public CCTV cameras in place at the moment, and installing them would likely need approval from local authorities.
However, he suggested having to install cameras would mean a 'further intrusion' on people's private, difficult and emotional moments while they're visiting the graveyard.
'Disturbing'
Senator Timmy Dooley recently highlighted the issue on Facebook, and he spoke to Lunchtime Live about what has been happening.
He said: "The bit I found most disturbing... the graves of a number of infants - at least two - had been disturbed. Toys had been taken from them.
"At that stage, it became clear there was malicious intent... or there was somebody acting in a manner you couldn't say was benign or innocent.
"There's something really sinister about this... you just have to look through the trauma someone who is going through."
He said one man contacted him to say marble monument had been taken from the grave of a younger person, and was later found dumped in a ditch.
Senator Dooley said: "For someone to wilfully take that from a grave and dump it on the side of the road... it really beggars belief as to what's going through the mind of the individual or individuals."
The Clare politician said there can often be a rush towards actions such as putting up cameras - but there are many people travelling to the graveyard at a very emotional time who don't need a camera over their shoulder.
He suggested: "Like a lot of things that happen in rural areas, it's about informing the community of what's happening... it's about being vigilant... and it's about being quite direct if something suspicious is observed.
"Not everybody likes the idea of reporting somebody to the guards... but when you look to the extent of the damage that's being done... it's the right thing to do."
Senator Dooley also suggested that anyone who might not be comfortable approaching the gardaí could quietly speak to Father Brendan instead.
