The reaction follows a report in the Irish Central, detailing an attack on a painting worth millions of pounds in Dublin’s National Gallery in 2012.

Andrew Shannon, a 49-year-old man from Dublin, was seen by the gallery’s CCTV security system to punch a hole straight through the painting’s canvas.

The original ‘Argenteuil Basin with a Single Sailboat’, painted by Claude Monet in 1874, is believed to be worth around £6.5 million pounds, one of the most expensive exhibits in Ireland.

Due to the value of the gallery’s paintings and sculptures, their security setup was extremely advanced, with a huge number of cameras and alarms situated around the premises.

The painting in question was clearly covered by one of these CCTV recordings, and evidently showed Shannon hitting the painting with considerable force.

Following his arrest he stated to authorities that it was ‘an attack on the state’, however when the case reached court earlier this month he explained he had been feeling faint due to a pre-existing heart condition which led him to fall into the painting.

However, the CCTV footage provided conclusive evidence for the jury, who reached their verdict less than two hours after the hearing began, resulting in a five year prison sentence for Shannon.

A spokesperson for AlertSystems, market leaders in commercial security systems, has released a statement following the verdict. ?The incident at the National Gallery in Dublin highlights the benefits well-positioned, high-definition CCTV cameras can have in the swift prosecution of those who commit such crimes.