Galway Bay fm newsroom:
The Minister for Justice and the Bishop of Galway have both this evening condemned the attack on a Muslim mosque in Galway city
Gardaí say a considerable amount of criminal damage was caused to the premises in Ballybane and investigations are ongoing.
Minister Charlie Flanagan says he wants to reassure worshippers their freedom of religion will be protected.
The Bishop of Galway has condemned the vandalism attack on the Maryam Mosque and says he wholeheartedly condemns the actions of the perpetrators.
Bishop Brendan Kelly, in a statement to FYI Galway, says that together with so many of his fellow Galwegians he's dismayed and shocked at the willful and malicious assault made last night on the Maryam Mosque
Bishop Kelly also says that later today he will visit his good friend Iman Ibrahim Noonan to assure him of his personal support and prayers and to convey to him the very deep sense of outrage felt across the community.
He says an attack on a place of worship is an assault on God and an assault on all people of faith, adding we stand in solidarity with our Muslim neighbors and with them reject violence, division and hate.
Bishop Kelly concludes that in this festive week for Galway, he asks all people of good-will to keep Galway Muslims in their hearts and prayers and to continue showing our fine and welcoming city in the best possible light.
