A seemingly maliciously set fire in the crypt of St Michan’s Church in Dublin has resulted in extensive damage to five mummified cadavers dating back hundreds of years.
The incident occurred on Tuesday, 11 June, around 4:30pm. A tour guide detected smoke in the Church of Ireland building on Church Street in Dublin 7 and quickly raised the alarm. Dublin Fire Brigade personnel extinguished the blaze before it could spread.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
Five mummified corpses remained submerged under around a foot of water in the crypt on Tuesday evening. It is feared that the mummies have been irreparably damaged by the water used to extinguish the fire. Among those that suffered water damage are the remains of a six-and-a-half-foot-tall man known as “The Crusader”.
The scene of the fire was sealed off to enable a full forensic examination by a team from the Garda Technical Bureau.
St Michan’s Church was founded in 1095, but the present Church of Ireland building dates to 1685–86 and was renovated in the latter half of the 1820s. A series of six barrel-vaulted passages under the church, entered via a narrow stone stairway, hold numerous mummified remains, mainly dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, though some are earlier.
Sign up to our newsletter
Laid to rest here are the Sheares brothers (Henry and John) and other prominent members of the Society of United Irishmen executed in 1798. The highly decorated coffins of the Earls of Leitrim and the remains of members of wealthy Dublin families can also be found in the vaults. Writing in the early 1880s, John Devoy commented on the “strong antiseptic quality” of the vaults with their magnesium limestone walls, which absorb moisture:
“bodies deposited there have been kept for centuries in such a state of preservation as to keep the features discernible, and the bones, cartilages, and skin astonishingly perfect.”
Well known for its guided tours of the crypt, St Michan’s Church is very popular among tourists.
Speaking to RTÉ, David Pierpoint, Archdeacon of Dublin and Vicar of St Michan’s Church, described the incident as “disastrous for Dublin, disastrous for history and … disastrous for the parish”. The archdeacon said he would ask the National Museum to inspect the crypt and what remains of the mummies.
In a statement on the Church of Ireland website, Dr Michael Jackson, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, said he was “devastated” by this act and “shocked at the sacrilege of the destruction of the remains of people who once lived”.
Fortunately, CCTV cameras captured the incident, which led to the arrest of a man in connection with an alleged offence under the Criminal Damage Act.
Christian Topiter (38), with a Romanian travel card and formerly of Grand Canal House, Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin 6 and recently staying at a hostel beside Merchant’s Quay, was detained overnight at a north Dublin garda station on Tuesday.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
Mr Topiter was charged with causing criminal damage to the mummified remains at St Michan’s Church. He appeared at Dublin District Court today (Wednesday, 12 June) and was remanded in custody with consent to bail. Judge Shalom Binchy granted bail on his own bond of €10,000, with a requirement to lodge cash of €2,000. He must also have a €10,000 independent surety approved with a €2,000 lodgement.
Once bail has been taken up, Mr Topiter must stay away from St Michan’s Church, not contact witnesses, provide gardaí with his address and surrender his identification or travel documents. He is due before Cloverhill District Court next week via video link.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
St Michan’s Church was a target for vandalism previously in 1996 and again in February 2019, when the mummified head of “The Crusader” was severed and stolen, along with another skull, during a break-in. In addition, the mummified head of “The Nun” was set at a 180-degree angle to the body, while another mummy had been repositioned on its side. Brian Bridgeman was subsequently jailed for five counts of criminal damage, two of which involved damaging a dead body. The mummified heads were recovered as a result of efforts by the gardaí.
No tours of St Michan’s Church can take place until further notice.
Sign up to our newsletter
Subscribe to the Irish Heritage News newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram for all the latest heritage stories.
READ NOW
➤ Forgotten ghost story by Dracula author Bram Stoker found in Dublin library
➤ Tour guide recalls the lesser-known stories of Glasnevin’s dead in new book
➤ From rackets to rugby: Dubliner Frank Stoker and his sporting triumphs
➤ A real Halloween horror: the manslaughter case that shook Fermanagh in 1916
➤ Irish Iron Age bog body “Clonycavan Man” wore exotic hair gel
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
