Idiotic bell thieves leave something behind for Gardai to find

A whopping 28-stone bronze bell was stolen from the Ivy Leaf Arts Centre in Co. Kerry last week but Gardaí managed to find traces of the raiders... in the toilet.

It was revealed yesterday that a large church bell weighing 28-stone (or 177kg) had been stolen from a former church in Castleisland, Co. Kerry last week, sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

Reports suggested that it would have taken a group of people to steal the bell seeing as it was so heavy and as it was sitting on a shelf. However, all that hard thieving obviously made one of the raiders desperate for the jacks. Why so? Because Gardaí found the DNA of one of the raiders in the loo after he took a massive… you know.

It’s a bit of a bummer that the bell was stolen in the first place as it was cast by bell founder Thomas Rudhall in Gloucestershire, England, in 1776, and was one of only 16 worldwide. So it’s safe to say that it’s a bit of a rare piece.

Jerome Stack, manager of the Ivy Leaf Arts Centre, said it was irreplaceable.

"I imagine on one hand some would say it only has scrap value, but on the other hand it is priceless," he said.

"I was so disappointed when it was taken. It was a focal point in the centre, now there's a big gaping hole there."