Cristian Topiter, who set a fire in the crypt of a Dublin church, which severely damaged five mummified bodies, has been jailed for six years.
A man who set fire to the crypt of St Michan’s Church in Dublin on 11 June 2024, causing irreparable damage to centuries-old mummified remains within, has been sentenced to six years in prison.
>>> RELATED: Five mummified bodies destroyed in wake of crypt fire in Dublin’s St Michan’s Church
Former security guard Cristian Topiter, aged 39, previously of Grand Canal House, Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin 6, pleaded guilty to arson and appeared via video link at Dublin Central Criminal Court on Thursday, 20 February.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
The court heard that Topiter, who has previous convictions, including for an arson offence in Northern Ireland that caused €300,000 worth of damage to the former Belfast Telegraph building, has a history of addiction and mental health issues. On the day of the incident in Dublin, Topiter had been drinking heavily and had taken tablets. His barrister, Oisín Clarke BL, said Topiter had no memory of setting the fire and could offer no explanation for his actions but was remorseful, ashamed and embarrassed.
“Irreplaceable” loss
Two of the mummified bodies in the crypt were burnt beyond recognition, while others were damaged by water used to extinguish the fire.
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Diana Stuart BL, prosecuting counsel, described the damaged mummified remains as “irreplaceable” and “priceless”.
In a victim impact statement, David Pierpoint, Archdeacon of Dublin and vicar of St Michan’s, described the attack as “an act of desecration and sacrilege”, adding that the loss was not only for the parish but for Dublin and the nation.
“We are the custodians of the human remains in the crypt. We have the privilege and burden to ensure such remains are passed on to future generations to come”, he said.
Before the fire, St Michan’s was a popular tourist attraction. Archdeacon Pierpoint told the court that the church had attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors, generating between €75,000 and €100,000 in annual revenue. Since the fire, tours have ceased, leading to a “financial crisis” for the parish as the revenue had funded the maintenance of the church.
A F F I L I A T E A D
Pierpoint said that approval would now be sought from Dublin City Council to exhume the damaged remains and have them reinterred in another vault – but this will be closed to the public.
Topiter read a letter to the court apologizing to the Irish public for “jeopardizing a national relic” and said he was working to “create positive change” in his life while in custody since his arrest in June.
Judge Martin Nolan, imposing the six-year sentence, described the offence as “very serious”, adding that Topiter had started the fire “for reasons only known to himself” and that “ancient relics were damaged, if not destroyed”. The sentence was backdated to 11 June last year.
Fire in St Michan’s Church
On 11 June 2024, at around 4pm, a tour guide at St Michan’s Church detected smoke and raised the alarm. Dublin Fire Brigade personnel extinguished the blaze in the crypt before it spread.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
In the crypt, five mummified cadavers were left submerged under a foot of water used to douse the flames. Among those damaged were the remains of a six-and-a-half-foot-tall man known as “The Crusader”.
The scene was sealed off for forensic examination by the Garda Technical Bureau, and CCTV footage led to Topiter’s arrest under the Criminal Damage Act. He was charged and remanded in custody.
In November 2024, Topiter appeared before Judge Alan Mitchell at Cloverhill District Court, where he confirmed that he had signed a guilty plea. The case was then sent to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for sentencing. On 13 December, Topiter appeared before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, affirming his guilty plea to charges of arson at St Michan’s Church on 11 June and damaging mummified remains by fire.
History of St Michan’s Church
St Michan’s Church was founded in 1095, though the present Church of Ireland building dates to 1685–86 and underwent renovations in the late 1820s. Beneath the church, a series of six barrel-vaulted passages hold numerous mummified remains, mostly dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, though some are earlier.
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John Devoy, writing in the early 1880s, noted the “strong antiseptic quality” of the crypt’s magnesium limestone walls, which absorb moisture and preserved the bodies. He observed that 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”.
Laid to rest here are the Sheares brothers, Henry and John, and other prominent members of the Society of United Irishmen, who were executed in 1798, as well as the Earls of Leitrim and members of prominent Dublin families.
St Michan’s Church has been repeatedly targeted by vandals, most notably in 2019, when the crypt was broken into and the head of “The Crusader” was severed and stolen, along with another skull. The mummified head of “The Nun” was also tampered with, and another mummy was repositioned on its side. Brian Bridgeman was later jailed for five counts of criminal damage, two of which related to damaging human remains. The stolen heads were recovered following a Garda investigation.
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