Seriously injured grandfather is among several hurt after a car 'deliberately' ploughed into crowds at a 'grave blessing' ceremony in an Irish cemetery

  • A car appears to drive into crowds at St Patrick's Cemetery in Dundalk, Ireland   
  • One man is seriously injured while a number suffered superficial injuries   
  • Dundalk Garda say they have arrested a man in his 20s believed to be the driver
  • Crowds were taking part in the annual Blessing of the Graves ceremony

A grandfather has been seriously injured along with a number of others after a car collided with huge crowds at St Patrick's Cemetery in Dundalk, Co Louth, Ireland, earlier this afternoon. 

Shocking footage captured at the scene, where thousands were taking part in the annual Blessing of the Graves ceremony, appears to show the car ploughing into the congregation at speed. 

Police said a man aged in his 20s, thought to be the driver, was arrested at the scene in Dowdallshill after driving through the cemetery, hitting pedestrians and then colliding with cars on a public road.

A dark coloured car can be seen speeding through the graveyard
Members of the congregation begin to scream in fear

A dark coloured car can be seen speeding through the graveyard as members of the congregation begin to scream in fear

Topless man is arrested following the incident at St Patrick's Cemetery in Dowdallshill, Dundalk, where a grandfather and several other people were injured

Topless man is arrested following the incident at St Patrick's Cemetery in Dowdallshill, Dundalk, where a grandfather and several other people were injured

A spokesman for Dundalk Garda said: 'It is understood from initial investigations that a dark coloured car drove at a number of persons in the cemetery who were attending the annual blessing of the graves event.'

'One man (age unknown) was seriously injured and taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, a small number of people received superficial injuries.'

The man who was seriously injured is a grandfather, parish priest Fr Mark O'Hagan said.

Describing the incident as 'terrifying', the priest added: 'I could hear this screaming and shouting. And there was a lot of people running and a lot of people screaming.'

Ambulance attend the scene as Garda deal with an incident which occurred at 3.40pm on Sunday at Dowdallshill, in Dundalk Co Louth

Ambulance attend the scene as Garda deal with an incident which occurred at 3.40pm on Sunday at Dowdallshill, in Dundalk Co Louth

A man in his late 20s, believed to the driver was arrested at the scene by Dundalk Gardai

A man in his late 20s, believed to the driver was arrested at the scene by Dundalk Gardai

A man, thought to be the driver, is detained following an incident at St Patrick's Cemetery

A man, thought to be the driver, is detained following an incident at St Patrick's Cemetery

The driver sped through the graveyard past the priest towards a car park before driving back towards him and mounting the kerb, Fr O'Hagan said.

He added: 'I tried to wave at him to try and slow him down or stop him.

'He sped on straight through the people again. It was terrifying.'  

The car was then seen driving out of the cemetery onto a public road, where it collided with a number of parked cars before coming to a stop.

What is the Blessing of the Graves?

An Irish Catholic tradition, usually held on a Sunday during summer, in which families gather to pay their respects to the dead. 

A service is usually held by a Catholic priest. 

Communities across Ireland gather at local parishes to bless graves of loved ones, often decorating them with flowers and wreaths.  

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Darren from Dundalk, who declined to give his second name, said he was at the cemetery and described seeing a man pull up in his car and get out.

'There was some dispute with people asking him to leave,' Darren said.

'He refused and started shouting when some old lady came over and spoke to him.

'He then went back into the car and started hitting his hands on the steering wheel.

'Then he started it and began spinning the wheels before driving into the crowd.

'He eventually left the graveyard and crashed.'

Darren said the incident 'felt like a terrorist attack' due to the number of frightened people there.

'I have been going to the blessing of the graves for the last 20 years and never once saw any trouble,' he said. 'Never saw so many frightened people.

'Someone said it was Isis - obviously wasn't - but people were screaming and running in all directions... It felt like a terrorist attack.'

Gardaí at Dundalk have called for all witnesses to contact them, particularly those who took video footage of the incident.   

There was a large number of young people, as well as the elderly, attending the annual religious service, which draws thousands each year to remember the dead, a local councillor said.

Damage caused to a parked car after it was hit with the offending vehicle on the road where it stopped

Damage caused to a parked car after it was hit with the offending vehicle on the road where it stopped

The offending car, which ploughed towards the crowd at high speed before stopping

The offending car, which ploughed towards the crowd at high speed before stopping

Damage caused to a car after it collided with parked cars on the road before stopping following an incident at St Patrick's Cemetery in Dowdallshill, Dundalk

Damage caused to a car after it collided with parked cars on the road before stopping following an incident at St Patrick's Cemetery in Dowdallshill, Dundalk

Sinn Fein's Ruairi O Murchu, who was not at the event but spoke to some people who were, said: 'They were utterly shocked. People are angry. There had been a huge amount of young kids there at the time.

'People who were very close to where the car sped through were jumping aside.'

He said he had been told of reports that at one stage the car reversed 'and kept going'. 

Local man Darren praised the efforts of a woman who was in charge of the PA system onstage, whose name he did not know.

'She was superb at keeping the crowd calm and informed,' he said.

'She made sure to have the centre entrance clear for the arriving ambulances and I feel she deserved an incredible amount of credit.'

Crowds stand among the graves as ambulances attend the scene while announcements are made over a loud speaker to keep roads clear for emergency services

Crowds stand among the graves as ambulances attend the scene while announcements are made over a loud speaker to keep roads clear for emergency services

A video captured at the scene where crowds were taking part in the annual Blessing of the Graves ceremony appears to show the car ploughing towards the group

A video captured at the scene where crowds were taking part in the annual Blessing of the Graves ceremony appears to show the car ploughing towards the group

Several people have been injured ¿ including one seriously - after the car collided with crowds

Several people have been injured – including one seriously - after the car collided with crowds

Pictures taken by Darren show the dark green car he said was involved in the incident with damage to its front left bumper where it crashed into other vehicles outside the cemetery.

Another image shows a topless man on the ground surrounded by police.

Amy Smyth, an NGO worker who was present at the event tweeted: 'Well that was an eventful blessing of the graves in Dundalk. Attendants and Guardi doing their very best to keep people safe in the panic. But very distressing experience.' 

Twitter user @Simonc46176551 shared footage from the scene at St Patrick's cemetery in Co Louth.

'Incident in graveyard in Dundalk - car rammed people,' they tweeted.

Their footage was taken from a distance, with one clip showing an ambulance surrounded by onlookers and in the second a voice on a Tannoy can be heard asking people to move away from the road.

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