The recovery of a 18th century chalice that was stolen during a burglary in Ardee, Co Louth, over 21 years ago is "great news for the parish", according to Reverend Canon Joyce Moore.
The chalice was in a safe when it was taken during a burglary at a house in Ardee in 1998. The safe was located later that year in Tallaght in Dublin, but without its contents.
A number of books that were in the safe were later recovered.
Reverend Moore said this morning that the discovery of the chalice after so many years "is great news for the parish".
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She said the chalice, which is solid silver, had a matching plate and they are looking forward to reuniting them.
She added that from the photographs she has seen of the chalice it appears to be in perfect condition.
The whereabouts of the chalice remained a mystery until last week when gardaí were alerted by a churchgoer that it had been advertised for auction at a property in Dublin city.
They recovered the chalice before it went up for auction.
The chalice was understood to have had a reserve price of between €5,000 and €7,000.
It has not yet been returned to the church and is still with gardaí.
Gardaí have appealed for anyone with information relating to the whereabouts of the chalice since 1998, to contact them at Ardee Garda Station on 041-6853222, or any garda station.
