Bonfires need regulation, yet Stormont still refuses to act
Pro Fide Et Patria, Irish News, May 29th, 2025
THOUGH we have yet to reach June, the dreary march towards the inevitable excesses of bonfire season is already underway at many traditional hotspots.
Whether there will be a full repeat of the unhinged mattress mountain and pallet piste at Craigyhill in Larne – the self-styled ‘world’s tallest bonfire’ – remains to be seen but there is no doubt that the activities around far too many July 11 pyres are unburdened by common sense.
An alarming feature of the annual bonfires of the insanities is a casual disregard for property, both public and private.
This was vividly demonstrated in the lower Shankill area of Belfast in 2016 when two houses in Hopewell Avenue were destroyed in a blaze after embers set them alight.
An alarming feature of the annual bonfires of the insanities is a casual disregard for property, both public and private
A 73-year-old woman and her two-year-old great-granddaughter had to be rescued from one of the houses while three other homes suffered smoke damage.
The homes that burned down were owned by the Housing Executive, as were two of the smoke-damaged properties, and the organisation was hit with a £90,000-plus repair bill.
Later, the Housing Executive spent £40,000 to turn the bonfire site into a community garden, with the pyre moved to a different location.
However, as we report today, bonfire material is once again being piled up in the Hopewell area, near a new social housing development, raising fears of a repeat of 2016’s shameful and entirely avoidable destruction.
Politicians unwilling to act
This serves to, once again, highlight how proper statutory regulation and enforcement around bonfires is badly needed. Stormont politicians, regrettably, remain unwilling to grasp this particular nettle.
As this newspaper has repeatedly pointed out, there is a parallel with how paramilitary flags are erected with apparent impunity and how the public are expected to tolerate obnoxious behaviour which wouldn’t be entertained anywhere else in Ireland or Britain.
The Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition was tasked with coming up with ideas on a way through this peculiarly northern morass, but its recommendations have been gathering dust since 2021.
It is a persistent disgrace that flags and emblems are routinely erected near new housing developments. This is little more than a crude attempt to stake claim to territory and to intimidate. The Stormont executive’s continuing failure to confront and defeat this sort of sectarianism is moral and political cowardice.
Bonfire culture, meanwhile, doesn’t need to be toxic. Bonfires can be a legitimate form of cultural expression but that cannot come at the expense of damage to property and the environment, or stoking hostility.
Bonfire material piles up beside site of pyre that destroyed homes
Damage to properties during a previous Eleventh Night cost taxpayers thousands of pounds in repairs
Paul Ainsworth, Irish News, May 29th, 2025
BONFIRE material is piling up in Belfast close to where a previous Eleventh Night pyre destroyed houses after they caught fire.
Pallets have been collected at Hopewell Avenue in the lower Shankill area, yards from the row of homes that were significantly damaged as a result of a bonfire in 2016.
Three properties owned by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) were destroyed that year when hot embers from the pyre were blown on to their roofs.
A 73-year-old woman and her two-year-old great-granddaughter who were asleep in one of the houses when it caught fire had to be rescued from the house.
Two other properties in the row – one of which at the time housed a pregnant woman – suffered smoke damage.
Four of the five damaged homes are owned by the Housing Executive, and it is estimated the total repair bill faced by taxpayers was more than £90,000.
The site of the 2016 bonfire was transformed into a community garden the following year by the NIHE at a cost of £40,000.
In years following the 2016 incident, a bonfire was held away from Hopewell Square and at a site closer to the main Shankill Road.
The NIHE no longer owns the land where the pyre was built, nor the adjacent strip of grass where the pallets are currently stacked close to the previously damaged houses.
Transfer of site from NIHE to Radius Housing
The land has been transferred to Radius Housing for its Hopewell Crescent social housing development. Eighteen of the 46 planned new dwellings were completed in 2022. However, in May 2023, bonfire material including boards, mattresses and pallets was to be removed by the NIHE, which said it was aware of an “issue with fly-tipping” in the Hopewell Square area.
The Irish News has asked the NIHE and Radius Housing for clarification on ownership of that strip of land last May when material was due for removal.
It is understood pallets have been left at the spot this year since at least as far back as April.
A post last month on the Lower Shankill Residents Group Facebook page includes footage showing gathered material that appears to be mostly pallets. The post states that anyone caught fly-tipping at the site “will be caught on camera” and “shamed on this page”.
The post, which welcomes the pallets appearing, claims efforts had been made to “get the wood lifted”, but added: “Looks like the lower Shankill will have their bonfire and won’t be dictated to by outsiders.”
Following the removal of the material in the Hopewell area in 2023, the lower Shankill area hosted an Eleventh Night event at which a more eco-friendly beacon replaced a bonfire, through a council-funded scheme.
Bonfires and beacons are lit across the north on the night of July 11 each year to signal the start of the Twelfth of July celebrations commemorating the Battle of the Boyne.
Damage visible to homes at Hopewell Square in Belfast following a bonfire in 2016
The Irish News approached Radius Housing for comment.
Following the damage caused by the blaze in 2016, then DUP councillor Brian Kingston, now an MLA, called for a review of the bonfire at the site, but said bonfires remained an “important part of the loyalist community culture”.
In 2017, DUP councillor Frank McCoubrey said the homes catching fire “really frightened people”, but added: “Nobody is trying to take people’s bonfires away from them.”
Public Safety threat
“This situation will cause significant distress among local residents and poses a clear threat to public safety
The Irish News approached the DUP for comment on the bonfire material now stacked close to the Hopewell Square homes.
West Belfast SDLP councillor Paul Doherty said the appearance of the bonfire material this year was “a matter of serious concern”.
“This situation will cause significant distress among local residents and poses a clear threat to public safety,” he said.
“In 2016, we witnessed the devastating consequences of such actions. These events underscore the potential dangers associated with bonfires built in close proximity to homes.
“Let’s be clear – no one should be forced to live in fear of a fire being lit on their doorstep.
“What’s happening here is not safe, and it’s not right. Setting bonfires beside homes, schools or community spaces crosses a line.
“I am calling on statutory agencies to act quickly, and for other political and community leadership to come together and to step up.
“No-one should turn a blind eye when people’s lives and homes are being put at risk. It’s time for common sense and accountability.”
Three centuries of News Letter go online
By Iain Gray, Belfast News Letter, May 29th, 2025
Three centuries of reporting from the News Letter, everything from events that shook the entire world to vital moments in the life of Ulster, are now online with the launch of a new digital archive.
Since its creation in 1737, the world’s oldest English language daily paper still in existence has brought the most important information from around the globe and right here at home into the lives of its eager readers.
Started in Joy’s Entry, one of a series of now-landmark narrow alleyways in the centre of Belfast, the News Letter is 50 years older than the Times of London and turns 288 this year.
From today (May 29th, 2025) newly digitised versions of all known surviving editions from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries are available for the public to peruse thanks to a joint project with the Northern Ireland Office, the British Library and online platform Findmypast.
Secretary of State Hilary Benn viewed newly digitised historic editions of the News Letter during a visit to the British Library in London, accompanied by British Library Chief Executive Rebecca Lawrence and Richard Hall, DC Thomson Deputy Chair.
Announcing the launch, Secretary of State Hilary Benn visited the British Library in London to view the new additions to the online archive, and said it was “wonderful to be able to view the newly digitised editions of the News Letter”.
“Bringing Northern Ireland’s newspaper heritage to a global audience will encourage research, exploration and appreciation of Northern Ireland’s rich political and cultural history,” said Mr Benn.
“This UK government project has opened up a unique resource to readers and researchers in nations around the world with historic links to Northern Ireland, including the USA.”
The collection is available online through the British Newspaper Archive and on Findmypast. It can also be viewed freely at the British Library sites in London and Yorkshire, as well as at any library or by any private individual around the world with a subscription.
The oldest surviving edition of the News Letter, from October 1738. The paper was founded the previous year, in September 1737, but the first 13 months of publications are lost.
Lee Wilkinson, managing director of DC Thomson History, which owns Findmypast, said the firm is delighted to enable more people to access a rich resource documenting NI’s past, at the click of a mouse.
He said: “Over the past 15 years, through our unique relationship with the British Library, we have been able to bring millions of these key historical records to communities across the globe, so that families and researchers alike can uncover and understand their heritage.”
The British Library provided originals of the News Letter in microfilm and newspaper format, which were then digitised by Findmypast.
For Rebecca Lawrence, chief executive of the British Library, making centuries of News Letter editions available online “preserves a vital piece” of Ulster’s heritage.
“We are thrilled to make all known surviving copies of the News Letter accessible for the first time through the British Newspaper Archive, in partnership with Findmypast and the UK government,” she said.
"As the world’s oldest English language general daily newspaper still in circulation, the historic Belfast title offers insight into centuries of life, politics, and culture in Northern Ireland and beyond.
“The British Library is custodian of one of the world’s largest news archives, with over 60m newspaper issues dating back to the 1600s, alongside growing collections of broadcast and digital news.
"Digitising all known surviving copies of the News Letter and making them available online preserves a vital piece of heritage and opens up the archive to researchers around the world.”
Ben Lowry, editor of the News Letter, said: “We are so delighted to see our historic papers, particularly those from back in the 1700s, made viewable via digital.”
The once rising star will now be watching from the sidelines
Allison Morris, Belfast Telegraph, May 29th, 2025
GILDERNEW WAS LET GO FROM HER PAID POST AT SINN FEIN AFTER HER 30-YEAR CAREER AT THE PARTY
In 1997, at just 27 years old, she was part of a small but high-profile Sinn Fein delegation that visited Downing Street to hold talks with the then newly-elected prime minister Tony Blair.
At that stage a fresh faced Michelle Gildernew was a relative unknown in the media, but that wouldn't be the case for long.
She would go on to be elected as a member of the newly-formed Stormont Assembly, one of the original class of 98 of 108 representatives. Just 18 of those MLAs were from Sinn Fein which, 27 years later, is now the largest party.
In 2001, she was back in Downing Street with Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness for further talks, her place at the right-hand side of the leadership an indication of her rising stock.
This week Ms Gildernew was let go from her paid post in Sinn Fein, although she remains — at this stage — a party member. It ends a 30-year career as a party employee.
During that time she has been part of the negotiating team, a Sinn Fein press officer, the MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, a former agriculture minister, MP for the constituency and a backroom employee working on governance reform.
Her departure has come as a shock to many in the grassroots but one senior republican said the writing has been on the wall for some time.
Insiders say that the weakened relations go back to an argument in 2011 around her treatment by a former party advisor.
While considering making a formal complaint, the media started to carry speculation that she was to put herself forward as a candidate for the Irish presidential race.
The nomination never came but neither did the complaint of workplace bullying.
Commentators would say that she was the only person who could fend off unionism in Fermanagh/South Tyrone, once the most marginal of Westminster seats.
Winning the seat in 2001 from Ken Maginnis of the Ulster Unionists, she lost it to Tom Elliott in 2015 before taking it back in the snap election of 2017.
At one stage she was elected with just a 57-vote majority.
Failed Euro election bid
Last year she announced she would not be going forward for selection in the Westminster election and would be instead concentrating on an attempt to win a seat in the European Parliament.
She placed sixth in the five seat Midlands-North-West constituency, some 5,500 votes shy of being elected.
It seemed an unlikely aspiration. Sinn Fein was falling in the polls, and not only was it unlikely the party could secure two seats but, in a double blow, its outgoing MEP Chris McManus failed to retain his seat in the constituency.
Last June party leader Mary Lou McDonald said: “Be in no doubt Michelle will feature very strongly within the Sinn Fein team in the future.”
However, insiders say she was managed out to make way for Pat Cullen, a star signing for the party. A former head of the Royal College of Nursing, her nomination gained national coverage.
Ms Gildernew endorsed Ms Cullen and was pictured on the campaign trail with her, something that was seen as essential not to alienate the outgoing MP's considerable personal vote.
Ms Cullen won the seat with a majority of 4,486 votes despite being up against a single unionist candidate, the UUP's Diana Armstrong. “We were in danger of losing Fermangh/South Tyrone with Michelle Gildernew,” said a party source.
“That might be harsh to say after her lengthy career but it is true; you've only to look at Pat Cullen's performance to see it was the right move.”
There are reports of personality clashes. Ms Gildernew is seen as something of a “maverick” who would in the past have given interviews straying outside the tightly controlled party lines.
Others disagree, saying it is short-sighted to get rid of someone whose name holds such sway in the rural area where allegiance is often linked to family ties.
No comment
“There are people not happy with this move. Michelle's phone hasn't stopped with well-wishers and those pledging support,” said one veteran of the party. She is believed to be one of five people laid off in party restructuring.
A progress report on party governance, commissioned by Ms McDonald following a number of scandals last year, was published last night. Sinn Fein said Ms McDonald's “governance review… has no remit in regard to employment contracts”, although the party leader said last night it had appointed a new Human Resources manager and put in place a Governance Hub that includes senior HR managers as a result of the review.
While Ms Gildernew was part of the team that helped compile the report she is unlikely to be part of its delivery. If she is it will be as a lowly party member, the once rising star no longer in the inner circle.
First Minister Michelle O'Neill was asked about reports in the Belfast Telegraph around Ms Gildernew's departure. She refused to comment, instead telling reporters: “I'm not going to get into the ins and outs of anybody's career, and I'm also not going to get into the ins and outs of the HR issues internally in the party.”
'Inadequate' RUC probe failed the family of loyalist victim, says report
Adrian Rutherford, Belfast Telegraph, May 29th, 2025
FATHER-OF-SEVEN WAS SHOT DEAD AS HE ARRIVED FOR WORK IN 1993
A police investigation into the loyalist murder of a father-of-seven was “wholly inadequate” and failed his family, a damning report has said.
Peter Gallagher (44), from Toomebridge in Co Londonderry, was shot and fatally wounded while arriving for work at the Westlink Enterprise Centre in west Belfast in March 1993.
The Police Ombudsman investigated the case after a complaint from Mr Gallagher's family.
Marie Anderson's report found that although 12 people should have been of interest to the murder investigation, none were arrested — despite significant intelligence in some cases.
She also criticised the police decision to cease surveillance of members of the UDA two days before the murder, given that the RUC had received multiple intelligence and other reports indicating the group was actively planning attacks.
On March 24, 1993 — when police resources were reallocated in response to intelligence about IRA activity — the Shankill-based 'C Company' unit of the UDA/UFF murdered Mr Gallagher and, in a separate attack the following day, 17-year-old Damien Walsh.
By the time surveillance of 'C Company' members resumed on March 30 1993, they had also attempted to murder two other people.
“I found no evidence that during this time police had reconsidered their decision to cease surveillance of 'C Company' members, despite the murders of Mr Gallagher and Damien Walsh, and mounting intelligence about other planned attacks,” Mrs Anderson said.
However, the Police Ombudsman added that her enquiries had found no intelligence that, if acted upon by police, could have prevented Mr Gallagher's murder. Neither was there any evidence that security forces provided information to paramilitaries to facilitate the attack.
No one has been convicted in relation to either the murder of Mr Gallagher or Mr Walsh. The UFF admitted responsibility for Mr Gallagher's murder, and police quickly received information indicating that the attack had been carried out by members of 'C Company'.
Mrs Anderson said the initial police response to Mr Gallagher's murder had been appropriate and comprehensive.
No arrests
However, she said it was difficult to understand why — as the investigation progressed and intelligence and other information centred around three primary suspects — they had not been arrested.
One is referred to in the report as Person J, known by police to be a key figure in 'C Company'. This individual and other members of this unit had been under surveillance by police for several months up to March 22, 1993 — two days before Mr Gallagher was killed.
Mrs Anderson said that despite a “significant intelligence picture” developing around Person J, no actions were raised in respect of him during the police investigation and he was not arrested.
“It is my clear view that he should have been,” she said.
Another key suspect, Person N, was named in two separate pieces of intelligence as having been the gunman who fired the fatal shots. Despite this, Person N was also not arrested in connection with Mr Gallagher's murder.
Mrs Anderson said her enquiries had established that members of 'C Company' had been the subject of surveillance for several months during early 1993.
Yet police surveillance of 'C Company' was halted on March 22, 1993, when resources were reallocated in light of information about IRA activity. It did not resume until March 30 1993 - nearly a week after Mr Gallagher's murder.
A detective inspector told Police Ombudsman investigators that resources may have been deployed to deal with what had been considered to be a more imminent threat with greater potential for harm. He described managing information, resources and workload at the time as “like juggling water”.
Army intervention
However, Mrs Anderson noted that in the three days that followed, 'C Company' members murdered Mr Gallagher and Mr Walsh, and mounted several other attacks. The Police Ombudsman also revealed that the Browning pistol used to murder Mr Gallagher had been removed from the scene by a military Ammunition Technical Officer (ATO). A Scenes of Crime Officer (SOCO) who was also at the scene recorded that the ATO had taken the weapon to Girdwood Barracks in Armagh to “clear it”.
Later that day, the same SOCO travelled to Girdwood Barracks and took possession of the weapon, which the ATO had packaged and sealed as an exhibit.
Mrs Anderson's investigation was unable to definitively establish why the weapon had been taken from the scene by the military rather than by a SOCO.
She said there had been a failure by police to pursue evidential opportunities that would have been available to them had they investigated links between the murders of Mr Gallagher and Mr Walsh.
In conclusion, Mrs Anderson said: “I believe Mr Gallagher was the innocent victim of a campaign of terror mounted by loyalist paramilitaries against the nationalist community. The UDA/UFF alone were responsible for Mr Gallagher's murder.
“I conclude, however, that the family were failed by a wholly inadequate murder enquiry and in particular the failure to link the murder of Damien Walsh to that of their loved one.”
'Men jailed for my father's murder only feel sorry for themselves. Legal bids are no shock'
Niamh Campbell, Belfast Telegraph, May 29th, 2025
IAN OGLE'S DAUGHTER 'CONFIDENT' APPEALS OVER FATAL ATTACK IN 2019 WON'T SUCCEED
The daughter of murder victim Ian Ogle says it “doesn't surprise her” that three of the men imprisoned for her father's killing have launched legal bids to overturn their convictions.
Glenn Rainey, Robert Spiers and Walter Ervine claim they were wrongly found guilty of being at the scene and taking part in the Belfast community worker's slaughter.
Two other men, Jonathan Brown and Mark Sewell, who admitted to roles in the murder, are also seeking to appeal their prison sentences.
Mr Ogle (45) was fatally attacked near his home on Cluan Place at around 9.20pm on January 27, 2019.
He was stabbed 11 times during the assault, which also involved a baseball bat and a flick baton.
Carried out as part of a long-running feud, the attack lasted for 30 seconds.
The five aforementioned men were sentenced in March of this year in relation to the father-of-two's murder.
Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph following the news that the five men are challenging the judge's decisions, Mr Ogle's daughter Toni said: “It doesn't surprise us at all. These men only feel sorry for themselves.
“At least their families can still talk and visit them. We will never get to see or speak to my dad again.
“Our family have faith in the justice system and are confident, after having sat through the trial and witnessing the evidence ourselves, that no appeals will be successful.
“However, it is a waiting game and just something that is, again, hanging over us.”
Ms Ogle said it had been a relief for her and her wider family circle when the case ended two months ago and the men involved were jailed, but that these appeals are now just another thing adding to the stress and grief of having lost Mr Ogle six years ago.
“It will never be over for us, because we will always be grieving,” she added.
The men's bids are expected to be heard at the Court of Appeal later this year.
‘Pack of Hyenas’
CCTV footage captured five masked men walking towards Cluan Place on the night of Mr Ogle's killing, moments before the brutal assault that claimed his life.
A witness likened the attack to “a pack of hyenas” descending on Mr Ogle, who was beaten and stabbed just yards from his east Belfast home in what prosecutors described as a coordinated and savage assault.
Three men — Rainey (38), formerly of a caravan park in Ballyhalbert, Spiers (42), from Millars Park in Dundonald, and Ervine (43), of Litchfield Street in Belfast — were convicted of murder following a non-jury trial in November last year. Each was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison.
The trial judge condemned the killing as a premeditated, vigilante-style attack carried out in public against an unarmed man.
Despite the verdicts, Rainey, Spiers, and Ervine continue to assert their innocence and their legal teams are expected to challenge their identification on CCTV footage and question other elements of the prosecution's circumstantial case.
Two other men — Brown (39), of Whinney Hill in Dundonald, and Sewell (46), of Glenmount Drive in Newtownabbey — pleaded guilty to murder and each received prison sentences of 17-and-a-half years.
Both now argue their sentences were unduly harsh, claiming they had no intent to kill when arriving at the scene.
During a brief preliminary hearing at the Court of Appeal, Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan outlined a timetable for the legal proceedings.
The appeals are expected to be heard after the summer recess.
SF puts new 'governance hub' in place to deal with procedures within party
Staff Reporter, Belfast Telegraph, May 29th, 2025
Sinn Fein has said it has put a new 'governance hub' in place to deal with issues such as safeguarding and child protection, discipline, and hiring and firing staff.
Leader Mary Lou McDonald yesterday published a progress report from the SF General Secretary on “the complete overhaul of governance procedures within the party”.
Ms McDonald had ordered the review last year in response to scandals relating to former press officer Michael McMonagle, who was convicted of child sex offences, and former senator Niall Ó Donnghaile, who quit the party after sending inappropriate texts to a teenager.
The party said it hired external professionals, and has appointed a new HR Manager and a Director of National Corporate Governance.
The party recently let go of five staff members — including former MP Michelle Gildernew — but said on Tuesday that the review “overseen by General Secretary Sam Baker has no remit in regard to employment contracts”.
However, human resources is one of four core areas listed by Mr Baker in yesterday's progress report to Sinn Fein's members. The others are disciplinary procedures, safeguarding guidelines and corporate governance.
The report said a senior barrister will review disciplinary procedures and update the Code of Ethics for Party Members, and the party has recruited an external HR manager.
A registered social worker will provide safeguarding training and risk assessments, and a Director of National Corporate Governance has been appointed to ensure “compliance with applicable laws and regulations” will be implemented.
The new senior managers are known as 'The Hub'.
Ms McDonald said: “Last October I asked the incoming General Secretary to initiate a complete overhaul of governance procedures within the party and I am now publishing a progress report. The party has appointed a new HR Manager and introduced a new post of Director of National Corporate Governance, who will be responsible for driving forward corporate governance, statutory compliance, and management processes within the party.
“A Governance Hub has also been put in place, under the General Secretary which involves senior managers with responsibility for HR, safeguarding and child protection, discipline, training, financial regulation and data protection. It held its inaugural meeting earlier this month.”
She added: “We are committed to ensuring the highest level of governance across Sinn Fein and that party management, staff and members are all aware of their responsibilities.
“Governance will be an ongoing part of our work and we will be reviewing all aspects of this annually.”
Irish archbishops urge international community to ‘grasp reality’ of humanitarian crisis in Gaza
Oisin Cahalane, Irish News, May 29th, 2025
TWO prominent Irish clergymen have urged the international community to ‘grasp reality’ in response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Archbishops John McDowell of Armagh and Michael Jackson of Dublin said they “can no longer stand by and watch the cruel starvation of innocent people”.
The call for action comes after Israel’s 11-week blockade of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, which began on March 2.
The blockade ended when Israel allowed five UN lorries of humanitarian supplies to enter the strip, a number which the UN called an insufficient “drop in the ocean”.
The archbishops have pinned “hospitals and the continuation of medical care” as “beacons of hope” amid the ongoing crisis and have pledged continued support to the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem, who run the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City.
Al Ahli, which was bombed on Palm Sunday, is part of the 94% of Gaza hospitals to be bombed or destroyed and is currently operating from a tent.
Describing Gaza as a “living wasteland”, the clergymen have once again called for an immediate ceasefire, alongside the release of all hostages by Hamas.
Since the Israeli offensive began in response to the October 7 attacks by Hamas, more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, including at least 16,000 children.
“Now is the time for decisive action,” concluded the archbishops in their joint statement, challenging those in global power.
“[We] can no longer stand by and watch the cruel starvation of innocent people.
Flags ‘littering’ lampposts amid Kneecap criticism condemned
Conor Shiels, Irish News, May 29th, 2025
AN EAST Belfast councillor has criticised those who denounce Kneecap but justify the hanging paramilitary flags on lampposts – as officials including the mayor call for the annual displays to stop.
The comments come ahead of the marching season.
Green Party councillor Brian Smyth criticised those speaking out against Kneecap but defend the hanging of paramilitary flags.
“I think for many people they see a double standard in terms of a member of Kneecap is being charged with supporting terrorism for waving a flag? Yet you have flags here also,” he told The Irish News.
“You can’t criticise one and then try and defend paramilitary flags. They’re classed as illegal organisations. Under the UK law, they’re classed as illegal terrorist organisations.”
Kneecap member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terror offence was week after allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag on stage at a gig in London.
Mr Smyth said the annual displaying of UVF and UDA flags around the summer marching season should stop.
Flags - street decorations or litter?
“I just think it’s ridiculous that we’re in 2025 and paramilitary flags are still going up on lampposts. There’s seemingly nothing the Department for Infrastructure – who owns the street furniture – and the PSNI will do about it. Both will say it’s a legislative issue,” he told The Irish News.
“Stormont doesn’t want to do anything. There’s been a collective failure of Stormont, the Department for Infrastructure, and the PSNI. People rightly feel angry and frustrated. I get it every summer.
“Lots of other political reps get it too. This is a complete and utter failure of governance.
“We live in 2025, and flags of illegal organisations – drug dealers, who are nothing more than drug-dealing cartels and criminals – are allowed to mark territory and trample over people who live in fear.
Paramilitary flags outside Elmgrove Primary School in east Belfast last year
“I think it’s a failure of governance and statutory bodies. None of them want to deal with it. It’s too much hard work.”
His views were echoed by Belfast’s Lord Mayor Micky Murray (Alliance), who said the flags were “littering” areas of the north.
“With regards to flags, we know that there are paramilitary flags that are put up across Belfast and the police and DFI are hesitant to take them down. As a councillor, it gets raised with me by constituents quite a lot.
“People don’t want these littering communities.
“I think there’s a difference between celebrating your culture and, you know, we see a lot of flags go up around VE Day and around the 12th of July and flags at other parts of the year. There’s a moment to celebrate your culture, but paramilitaries are not a celebration of culture.”
“ I think for many people they see a double standard in terms of a member of Kneecap is being charged with supporting terrorism for waving a flag? Yet you have flags here also
The Alliance Party – of which Mr Murray is a member – is pushing for legislation that would regulate the display of flags and emblems.
It says the proposed legislation would create “a regulatory framework to enable the display of emblems on street furniture (such as lampposts, telegraph poles and safety barriers) within a code of conduct”.
A PSNI spokesperson told The Irish News it will “consider each incident on a case-by-case basis, and the individual circumstances will determine what action police take”.
“Where any offences have been committed, the circumstances will be thoroughly investigated.
“Our officers will engage with local community representatives and partner agencies in relation to any complaints about flags, and work with them to build a safe and inclusive society.”
