The historic artefact was taken in broad daylight by a gang that raided into St John’s Church in Killenard.
The intruders gained entry to the sacristy and made off with a heavy-duty safe containing the chalice.
Fortunately, the safe is not believed to contain other valuables but did have some church documents.
The theft is believed to have taken place in the morning
While the chalice is of huge historical value, it is not believed to be of huge monetary value and there is now fear that the thieves will seek to have it melted down for its scrap metal value.
This is the second time the rural church has been targeted by thieves; late last year, heating oil was stolen from the tank.
Local county councillor Tom Mulhall said the church, like most others, was normally open for people to visit as they wish.
“This is daylight robbery – there are a lot of churches and this kind of thing can get more common,” he remarked.
Cllr Mulhall said it would have taken two or three people to carry the safe away and it was believed the thieves had parked out of sight near the village’s community centre while the robbed the church.
A spokesperson for Killenard parish said the significance of the latest incident is “not so much the monetary value but the value of (the chalice) in terms of history.”
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