Priest says questions remain about police and MI5 silence on Sean Brown murder

A PRIEST who officiated at the funeral of murdered GAA official Sean Brown believes questions remain about why police, Special Branch and MI5 continue to withhold information about the sectarian murder.

Monsignor Andy Dolan has broken his silence in a new book about the abduction and brutal murder of the 61-yearold as he locked up at Bellaghy GAA club on May 12, 1997.

‘A Bitter Harvest: The Good Life And Unresolved Murder Of A Derry GAA man’ is penned by former Irish News journalist Garbhán Downey. More than 25 people have been linked by intelligence to the murder, including state agents.

Monsignor Dolan officiated at Mr Brown’s funeral, where he first raised concerns “the RUC investigation into Seán’s death would be compromised”.

Now, almost 30 years later, the highly regarded priest believes “there had to have been collusion” and described the investigation into Mr Brown’s death as “total and deliberate neglect”.

“There are so many questions to be answered about the investigation – and how that policing ‘family’ of the Special Branch and MI5 are still withholding details of what happened,” he said.

“How can MI5 be allowed primacy over the PSNI while they continue to hide what they knew here?” he said. “We need to trust our guardians and for that they have to be held accountable.”

Monsignor Dolan said Mr Brown’s case “epitomises the worst of it all, which is why it is so important it is resolved”.

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‘Daddy looked out for everyone’

Sean Brown’s family on GAA official’s kind nature while questions remain for police and MI5

IN a new book about the murder of GAA official Sean Brown, written by Garbhán Downey, his family reveal his kind nature, while former Bellaghy priest Fr Andy Dolan says there are questions about the continued failure of Special Branch and MI5 to provide information about the killing. Read an extract below.

SIOBHÁN Brown said the family got consolation from the funeral and from the many tributes they received to their father.

“Daddy looked out for everyone. That’s who he was. His colleagues and students from Ballymena Training Centre were very, very upset at his death. I remember when I came home from Belfast there were two or three of them sitting here in the living room whenever I came in.

“Many of his colleagues from both communities came to the funeral. There’s a photograph which appeared in one of the papers of the crowds walking up the hill to the chapel, and it just looks like a sea of people.

“The place was actually taken over. It was a very large funeral. All up the street. It was lovely to see that, even if it’s in terrible circumstances. He was so well thought of and so respected as a good man.”

As part of the Mass, hosted by Fr Andy Dolan and Bishop of Derry Dr Séamus Hegarty, mourners at St Mary’s Church heard a beautiful poem written by Seán’s 12-year-old Protestant neighbour, Fiona Smyth, remembering how he would ask her every day how she had got on at school.

Then on behalf of the Brown family, Bishop Hegarty appealed for peace and reconciliation, saying Seán would have had it no other way:

“At a time like this, it is important that the words we speak be words of peace not of conflict, words of reconciliation not words of revenge, words which build up rather than words which destroy.

“Our words must be measured and considered at this time and they must be matched by corresponding Christian deeds. Even in their intense grief and loss, this is the message from Bridie and the Brown family. Seán himself would have it no other way.

“At a time like this, one could become anxious and apprehensive about the recent spiral of sectarian violence with such tragic results. Good Catholic and Protestant people abhor these actions; they reject and condemn them. They do not even attempt to justify them on ideological or religious grounds, and rightly so.

“Rather than be a cause of division, I hope that this stunning reminder to all of us of Seán Brown’s death will strengthen our resolve and determination to care for and protect one another, accepting diversity and respecting people for holding different views.”

GAA and Catholic church

Traditionally, there had been a strong relationship between the GAA and the Catholic church in Bellaghy, as is the case in many rural areas across the island.

In his introduction to Lost Gaels: Remembering the Members of the GAA Killed During the Conflict in Ireland (2024, Merrion Press), Peadar Thompson comments:

“The Catholic church was vital in fostering and developing Gaelic games during the conflict… those working for the Church, in parishes across the North, were clearly dedicated to the preservation and promotion of our indigenous games, in spite of the very real threat that work presented to them.”

Seán Brown embodied that special relationship, says Fr Andy Dolan, and even took a lead in restricting club fundraising so as to allow the church a chance to launch a renovation appeal.

“He was a very good parishioner, helping with stewarding, the car-parking and with collections. You never had to ask him – it would be done.

“He also helped very much with the renovation of the Bellaghy chapel. We knew a lot of work had to be done, it was going to be a very big project, so we called a meeting at the hall to talk to the community, to outline what the challenges were likely to be and to make sure everyone was behind it. The hall was full and there was a lot of debate – I remember discussions about Heritage Lottery grants and the like.

“The decision was made to go ahead with a refurbishment and extension, and everyone said we would move forward as a parish – and we made a call for a group of people together who will help drive this forward with myself.

“Then Seán, speaking on behalf of Bellaghy GAC, said that the club would be supporting the development plan all the way. He laid it out for everyone to hear, announcing that the club would not be getting involved in any serious fundraising for itself until the chapel fundraising was well established.

“So he took a step back for the club so that it would be a step forward for the parish. That was the measure of the man. And he didn’t let the crowd leave the night until he had said it, because there’s only a certain amount of money in a small community. I’m sad to say he never got to see it finished.”

The church fundraising committee had held a committee meeting in the parish hall the night of Seán’s death to discuss buying a piece of ground from a Protestant neighbour at the back of the church – indeed one of the fundraising committee had then gone onto the GAA meeting at the clubhouse.

Fr Dolan remembers: “I got a knock on the door very early the next morning. A man had actually called to the parochial house wanting a lift to Dunloy at 4am during the night, and for some time after I was wondering if it was connected to Seán, but I later tracked down the man and realised it was nothing to do with it.

“The very next knock after that was the police, and they told me what had happened to Seán.”

Collusion

Speaking in 2025, the now Monsignor Dolan said he was aware from the outset that there had been state involvement in Seán’s death.

“There had to have been collusion. And we all know how poorly Seán’s murder was investigated; total and deliberate neglect, you could call it.

“Until Seán Brown’s killing and many other cases like it are resolved, then the PSNI are playing into the wind because they have inherited the bad reputation of previous generations of policing. That’s why it’s important people look at those cases again in a different light and try to resolve them properly, so we can go on to become a normal society.

“The LVF referenced the Bellaghy marching dispute in their claim – which had been nine months earlier, so they had clearly had time to plan and prepare their target. Seán though was not involved at all in marching. But they had a policy of targeting GAA people as far back as the 1970s: Seamus Heaney’s cousin Colm McCartney and Seán Farmer on their way back from Croke Park; the chemist William Strathearn; right up until Gerard Devlin in Glengormley in 1997, seven months after Seán – and others even after that.

“I went with the Brown family and met the Minister for Foreign Affairs in Dublin. We prepared a handout for them, which prompted them to support the campaign.

“There are so many questions to be answered about the investigation – and how that policing ‘family’ of the Special Branch and MI5 are still withholding details of what happened. How can “MI5 be allowed primacy over the PSNI while they continue to hide what they knew here. We need to trust our guardians and for that they have to be held accountable.

“As I said, Seán’s case epitomises the worst of it all, which is why it is so important it is resolved. I have to say, I am not entirely confident, however. They are old hands at this and have always been able to stick it out. They can be a bit nasty too as many other countries in the world can testify.”

‘A Bitter Harvest: the good life and unresolved murder of a Derry GAA man’ by Garbhán Downey was commissioned by the Brown family and Pat Finucane Centre and is published by Colmcille Press

50th anniversary of double sectarian attack is marked

CONNLA YOUNG, Irish News, May 15th, 2026

RUC Reservist and British soldiers involved in UVF murders of four men at two bars in Co Armagh

FOUR men killed in a double sectarian attack involving an RUC Reservist and British army personnel will be remembered by relatives and friends on their 50th anniversary today.

The victims died during simultaneous bomb and gun attacks at two bars in Charlemont, Co Armagh, on May 15 1976.

Benburb man Frederick McLoughlin (48), a father-offour, was shot and injured during a gun attack at the Eagle Bar and eventually lost his fight for life 16 days later on May 31.

Another customer, Marie O’Hagan, was shot in the head, but miraculously survived after a UVF murder squad raked the pub with gunfire.

It was later established the front of the bar had been hit 30 times with rounds fired from two weapons.

As attempts were made to help the injured in The Eagle, a massive explosion ripped through nearby Clancy’s Bar, which claimed the lives of three people.

They included owner Felix ‘Vincy’ Clancy (54), a fatherof-two, Loughgall man Sean O’Hagan (22), a brother-in-law of Marie O’Hagan, and Robert McCullough (41) from Mullyleggan.

Two men were later convicted for the murder of Mr McLoughlin, Garfield Beattie, a private in the Territorial Army and David Henry Dalzel Kane, a former member of the UDR.

Beattie was also convicted for the murders of SDLP member Denis Mullen in September 1975 and Patrick McNeice in July the flowing year.

In a 2021 interview with The Irish News, Beattie confirmed that unknown to him his Catholic uncle, James McKeown had been in The Eagle Bar when he opened fire.

In 1978 another man, Joseph Norman Lutton, was arrested in connection to the double attack and implicated both Beattie and Kane in the

Clancy’s Bar explosion, however, no action was ever taken against either man.

Lutton later claimed Beattie lit the fuse on the bomb and that he, along with Beattie, fired shots into the Eagle Bar.

During a subsequent trial Lutton was referred to as a “cheese processor”.

HET findings

However, the now defunct Historical Enquiries Team later found he joined the RUC Reserve in December 1974 and resigned the day he was arrested, May 31, 1978 – meaning he was in the RUC when the pub attacks took place.

Now, 50 years later relatives of those who died are preparing to mark the landmark date.

Jim McLoughlin, Frederick McLoughlin’s son, questioned why it took so long for authorities to arrest the killer squad.

“That gang was all from the same area,” he said.

“You could throw a blanket over their houses.

“How they got going for so long, why they weren’t lifted before this happened is a mystery.”

The bullet that killed his father was later removed in hospital and subsequently lost, making it impossible to know who fired the fatal shot.

Mr McLoughlin, who is now aged 72, is aware that many families have not had a chance to see those who killed their loved ones face conviction.

“A lot of families didn’t get that justice,” he said.

“The injustice is letting them (the UVF gang) go for so long.”

Mr McLoughlin said his father, who was in the Eagle Bar by chance, “was an innocent, easy going man”.

“The 16 days in Craigavon (hospital) was very, very traumatic for us,” he said.

“He was put on life support and never regained consciousness.

“People don’t realise what we went through.”

Mr McLoughlin spoke of the pressure on his family while his father was in hospital.

“You were saying rosaries, or praying, or priests coming in,” he said.

“One night you’d be there with him and the doctors would tell you to go home, ‘he’s doing great’ and four hours later, ‘you’d need to get back down here, he’s taken a turn’. “And that happened five or six times. “Then, you had to go on, didn’t you?”

None of the families who lost relatives were told that those convicted were linked to the security forces.

Alan Brecknell from the Pat Finucane Centre said the “hurt and trauma” of the attacks “is still evident today”.

Unanswered questions

“Fifty years on there are still unanswered questions for the families,” he said.

“It is now time that these questions were answered.

Mr Brecknell said the Operation Denton report, into the activities of the Mid Ulster UVF, should now be published.

“Some family members do not have an indefinite time to wait for it the be provided to them,” he said.

“These delays just add to the feelings of grieve, hurt, pain and trauma.”

An anniversary Mass for the dead will be held at St Colmcille’s Church, Knockaconey on Friday at 7.30pm while a commemoration event will be held outside the Eagle Bar on May 31, Mr McLoughlin’s anniversary, at 12 noon.

Man found guilty of New IRA bid to murder PSNI officers

ASHLEIGH McDONALD, Belfast Telegraph and Irish News, May 15th, 2026

A Co Tyrone man has been found guilty of attempting to murder police officers in Strabane in a bomb attack later admitted by the New IRA.

Charlie Love was convicted of all four charges he faced at Belfast Crown Court.

Mr Justice Fowler said he was satisfied that Love was “intimately connected with the planning and execution of what was a dissident terrorist bomb attack on a police car with two officers on board.

“I am satisfied that it was the defendant's intention that police officers would be killed.”

The judge also rejected suggestions the bomb attack was an “elaborate incident to scare or terrorise the police” and instead said it fell within a “violent dissident terrorism agenda”.

The four charges Love was convicted of arose from an attack on a police vehicle in the Mount Carmel Heights area of Strabane on the evening of November 17, 2022.

Two officers were in the area at around 11pm in an unmarked armoured Skoda Superb when they reported witnessing a flash and hearing a “massive bang”.

Love — whose DNA was located on a modified cordless drill and on a command wire located at the site of the attack — denied all the charges.

A non-jury trial was held at Belfast Crown Court and trial judge, Mr Justice Fowler, gave his judgment yesterday.

He found Love guilty on all four charges — namely the attempted murder of 'Officer A' and 'Officer B', possessing explosives and causing an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property.

From Bridge Street in Strabane, the 31-year-old was told by the senior judge that he will be sentenced for the offences in September.

Prior to this, Mr Justice Fowler said he had carefully considered all the evidence he heard during the trial.

This included the evidence of the officers in the targeted vehicle who recalled the moment their armour-plated patrol car was hit.

Officer A

Giving his evidence from behind a blue curtain to conceal his identity, 'Officer A' said he and his colleague had gone to Mount Carmel Heights to follow up on an earlier complaint about anti-social behaviour between two neighbours.

After finding no one at home, the response officers decided to get back into the Skoda and leave the area.

'Officer A' said that as they proceeded to leave Mount Carmel Heights he noticed a “large ball of light in the front passenger window”.

“Then there was a bang, a very loud bang. I felt something hit the side of the car. The car rocked a bit.

“The large ball of light came from bushes at a disused school. Then there was a large explosion.”

When asked to describe the sound he heard, the constable said: “It was a massive bang. I hadn't heard anything like it before. It was quite substantial.”

Following the impact of the device, 'Officer A' said the “car rocked to the side” and that while driving they heard over their radio of an attack in Mount Carmel Heights and he responded to the transmission by saying: “We have been hit.”

'Officer B' also recalled seeing a large flash followed by an explosion and force was felt to the left side of the vehicle.

The officers then returned to Strabane PSNI station where they checked the vehicle for damage to the passenger side of the vehicle.

In the aftermath of the incident the area including waste ground was searched and several items were removed for forensic examination.

Included was a cordless drill which the Crown said was a “trigger mechanism for the device” and was found lying in grass.

DNA

Love's DNA was found on the drill and on a galvanised post, while the presence of the explosive RDX was also located at the scene.

He was arrested at Derry Road in Strabane the day after the bomb attack and over the course of four interviews he gave a 'no comment' response.

He was released on November 20, 2022 but was further arrested on December 13, 2022 when the DNA results were confirmed. During further interviews, Love again refused to answer any questions.

He subsequently provided a prepared statement in which he claimed that he was approached by a male involved with Saoradh — the political wing of the New IRA — on November 17, 2022. In his statement, Love said this man asked him to do “a favour” which was to take a drill in a bag to waste ground at Mount Carmel Heights.

Defence submissions on behalf of Love suggested the Crown had failed to prove that by bringing the drill to the specified location he had an intention to kill officers A and B.

It was also suggested by the defence that no one would have known the police would be in Mount Carmel Heights on the night of the attack.

Mr Justice Fowler noted that Love refused to answer police questions at interview and declined to give evidence during the trial.

He said a “sensible explanation for silence” could be that Love had “no answers that could stand up to scrutiny”.

Also considered by the judge was Love's admission that he was in the area of the explosion on the night in question and that at the relevant time he did not have his phone with him.

Convicting Love on all four charges, Mr Justice Fowler said he was satisfied that Love was “intimately connected” in the planning and execution of the bomb attack and was at the scene of the explosion when the bomb was detonated.

He added he was satisfied Love's acts were “more than merely preparatory” and was satisfied Love's intention was to kill.

Appearing alongside Love in the dock of Belfast Crown Court was his 30-year-old partner Symone Murphy, from the same address at Bridge Street in Strabane.

She stood trial on a charge of withholding information which might assist terrorists on dates between November 16, 2022 and March 24, 2023.

When her phone was seized and examined, messages indicated she knew her partner was not at home during the relevant time — and when she was later spoken to by police about the explosion, Murphy didn't answer their questions about Love's whereabouts on the evening of November 17.

She also declined to give evidence at the trial.

Her defence team indicated that all she knew was that Love was not at home on the evening of the explosion.

Acquitting her of the single charge she faced, Mr Justice Fowler said he could not be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Murphy knew Love's whereabouts. The judge also said he has taken into consideration Murphy's clear criminal record.

Following his judgment, Mr Justice Fowler told Murphy she was free to go while he remanded Love back into custody ahead of September's sentencing.

Poll finds over 70% of people in North see Brexit as a failure

JONATHAN McCAMBRIDGE, Irish News, May 15th, 2026

MORE than 70% of people, including a majority of Leave voters, agree that Brexit has been more of a failure than a success in Northern Ireland, an opinion poll has suggested.

The results of the research from Queen’s University, Belfast also indicate two-thirds of people in the region believe Brexit has made the break-up of the UK more likely.

The polling, carried out for Queen’s by LucidTalk, suggests that close to half of voters (48%) do not agree that the 2016 Brexit referendum was based on a “fair democratic process”, while 40% agree.

The report is the 15th in the “Testing the Temperature” series on Northern Ireland voters’ views on Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol/Windsor Framework, led by Professor David Phinnemore and Professor Katy Hayward.

Previous reports were produced as part of a four-year project led by Queen’s and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

This latest poll was conducted between April 17-20, using a weighted sample of 1,050 respondents from across Northern Ireland.

The survey found declining public understanding among respondents of the Windsor Framework, the post-Brexit deal between the UK and the EU aimed at reducing trading frictions between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Findings

Research found that the SDLP is the most trusted party on the Windsor Framework

Poll findings included:

·         72% of respondents agree that “Brexit has been more of a failure than a success for Northern Ireland”.

·         This includes 60% of Leave respondents.

·         66% agree that Brexit has made the break-up of the UK more likely; 19% disagree.

·         More than twice as many agree (52%) than disagree (23%) that their Brexit-related identity, Leaver or Remainer, is “very important” to them.

·         46% of respondents now regard the Windsor Framework as “on balance a good thing for Northern Ireland”, the lowest level since June 2021, while 38% disagree.

·         Confidence in the NI Protocol/ Windsor Framework as a tool for managing Brexit’s effects has declined, with only 46% now viewing it as an appropriate means of addressing Brexit in Northern Ireland, down from 61% in summer 2024 and equal to its previous low recorded in spring 2021.

·         Views among respondents of the framework’s effects on Northern Ireland’s relationship with the rest of the UK remain negative, including on its place in the UK internal market (44% negative vs 28% positive).

·         Perceptions of the Windsor Framework’s economic impact are more positive than negative, 45% believe it has had a positive effect on the economy, while 37% believe its impact has been negative.

·         A majority of respondents (57%) believe the Windsor Framework offers unique economic opportunities, down from 68% in summer 2024.

·         A majority distrust either a Conservative-led (76%) or Reform-led UK government (70%) to protect Northern Ireland’s interests in EU-UK relations.

·         The SDLP is the most trusted party among respondents on the Windsor Framework (38%).

·         The TUV the most trusted unionist party (30%) on the issue, though it is also the most strongly distrusted (50%).

European Court of Human Rights

Prof Phinnemore said: “The poll provides further evidence that understanding of the Windsor Framework is declining.

“In part, this is no doubt due to the complexity of some of its arrangements.

“Yet the poll findings also show fewer voters believing reliable information is available.

“With the UK and EU negotiating new agreements that are expected to reduce trade frictions arising from the Windsor Framework, it will be important that the new arrangements are clearly and reliably explained.

“If they are not, then this will only further damage trust levels in the UK Government and the EU.”

Professor Hayward said: “Ten years after the Brexit referendum, one in two voters in Northern Ireland still see their Leave/Remain identity as very important – across both camps and the political spectrum.

“This constitutes an additional layer of division broadly on top of existing ones.

“The need to manage this with compromise on both sides explains the region’s unique post-Brexit arrangements, ie the Windsor Framework.

“It also helps explain why the majority of both Leavers and Remainers here believe – albeit for different reasons – that Brexit has been a failure for Northern Ireland.”

The survey also suggested a preference among voters for closer ties with the EU – 59% of respondents oppose further loosening of UK-EU ties and 57% support the UK rejoining the EU, with strong gender and Remain/Leave divides.

Almost three-quarters (73%) of respondents support Ireland using its EU Council Presidency to improve EU-UK relations.

More than half of respondents (58%) oppose leaving the European Convention on Human Rights while 36% support such an exit.

The poll has a margin of error of +/- 2.3%.

Unionist fury as dual language signs proposed with less than 15pc support

MICHAEL KENWOOD LOCAL DEMOCRACY REPORTER, Belfast Telegraph, May 15th, 2026

MOVE SLAMMED AS 'AN ABUSE OF PROCESS AIMED AT ACHIEVING CULTURAL DOMINATION'

Unionists have reacted with anger after a Belfast City Council committee pushed through a swathe of streets for Irish language signage, despite none of them meeting the 15pc threshold.

Elected representatives at the May meeting of the council's People and Communities Committee voted narrowly to use discretionary powers to erect Irish and English dual language street signs on seven Belfast streets that did not meet the policy threshold for receiving the signs.

The streets are University Street, Colinvale, Friendly Way, McAuley Street, Mill Pond Glen, Shaftesbury Avenue and Stewart Street. All the surveys, apart from University Street, were in what could be considered 'nationalist' streets.

In Stewart Street in the Markets area, 77 surveys were delivered, with six in favour of Irish signage and none against — meaning the percentage in favour was just 7.79pc, nearly half of the 15pc threshold.

At the committee, 10 councillors voted in favour of a Sinn Féin proposal to erect dual language signage on the seven streets, from Sinn Féin, the SDLP, the Green Party and People Before Profit. Nine voted against, from the DUP, Alliance and the UUP.

The decision will have to be ratified by the full council next month, where another vote is expected. The outcome will very much depend on the turnout and, with a full house, the Green Party could be kingmakers in favour of the Sinn Féin proposal.

TUV deputy leader and councillor Ron McDowell said the decisions “make a mockery of the consultation process”.

‘Cultural domination’

“Everyone knows that the 15% threshold is preposterously low. Now — when the nationalist establishment cannot even get that derisory level of support — they plough ahead regardless.

“This is not about equality. It's not about rights. It's certainly not about respect. It's abuse of process in order to achieve cultural domination.

“We know from independent polling that Irish signage has a significant chilling effect on members of the unionist and Protestant community considering living in areas. Yet that doesn't concern those who have no interest in the rights of others.”

The DUP group leader at City Hall, Sarah Bunting, said: “Sinn Féin have moved from rewriting the rules to simply ignoring them altogether whenever the result doesn't suit their agenda.

“It sets a dangerous precedent and reflects a growing sense of entitlement that will be deeply worrying for everyone who values fairness, accountability and democratic decision-making.

“These streets are in areas widely regarded as nationalist communities and yet even there they could not reach the 15pc threshold of support. That raises a serious question as to whether this is genuinely the settled will of those communities, or simply Sinn Féin pursuing its own pet project and claiming political wins regardless of local consent.”

The current policy, created in 2022, means at least one resident of any Belfast street, or a councillor, is all that is required to trigger a consultation on a second dual language nameplate, with 15pc in favour being sufficient to erect the sign.

Non-responses are no longer counted as “against” votes, and there is an equality assessment for each application.

Divisive

Before that, the policy required 33.3pc of the eligible electorate in any Belfast street to sign a petition to begin the process, and 66.6pc to agree to the new dual language sign on the street.

Sinn Féin has recently started pressing for Irish signs on streets that have not met the 15pc threshold.

Loyalist activist Jamie Bryson urged unionist councillors to 'call in' the decision, meaning it will have to be reviewed by the council, who can then seek legal advice on whether a decision could have an adverse impact on one community.

He said the approval of signage with such little support causes division.

“We now have a situation whereby the aggressive Irish language agenda is not even being imposed with the ludicrous 15% threshold, but now as little as 7%,” he said. “This is why Irish language is so divisive.”

Last month the party asked Belfast Council to show “discretion” and allow the application for University Street in the Queen's University area to go to a vote at City Hall. And this week, Sinn Féin councillor JJ Magee sparked the most recent controversy by proposing Irish/English signs for the six additional streets that did not make the 15pc.

Lyons accuses Sinn Féin of ‘co-ordinated attack’ over Irish language issues

DAVID YOUNG, Irish News, May 15th, 2026

COMMUNITIES Minister Gordon Lyons has accused Sinn Féin of using funding uncertainty around a street signs translation project to wage a “coordinated attack” on him based on a “fabrication”.

Mr Lyons made the claim during robust exchanges with Sinn Féin members of his assembly scrutiny committee, including chairman Colm Gildernew, who likened the minister to an arsonist who blames the fire brigade for causing water damage.

The clashes played out as Mr Lyons appeared before the committee to face questions on the future of the Northern Ireland Place-Name Project.

The academic initiative based at Queen’s University researches the origins of street names across the region and also provides councils support in translating English street names into Irish.

Sinn Féin MLAs have accused Mr Lyons of refusing to renew funding for the project this year.

However, the minister has rejected that claim, insisting the work had previously been funded by the Sinn Féin-led Department of Finance and he has made no proactive decision to cut financial support for the scheme.

Mr Lyons told the committee that when it became clear DoF was not going to continue its financial support this year he put in contingency arrangements to allow it to continue operating into the summer pending examination of other options aimed at securing its future.

However, he said the project has since been hit by resourcing and staffing issues within the university, with some team members having decided to move on.

The minister noted that Sinn Féin Economy minister Caoimhe Archibald had signalled an intent to step in and support the project but he said his ministerial colleague had not yet offered “details on the nature or scope of the proposed support”.

Open to engagement

“We remain open to engagement with colleagues across government to identify a way forward,” he said.

Mr Lyons’ version of events drew criticism from Sinn Féin committee members, with deputy chairwoman Cathy Mason claiming his approach to the project fitted a pattern of hostility toward Irish language initiatives.

“We’ve got place names (project), you’re embroiled in court cases against the Irish language, you’ve removed the (Irish language) branding from your department, you’re clearly blocking the development of an Irish language strategy,” she said.

“You’ve got form on this, with one thing after another. Why are you so afraid of the Irish language and Irish identity?”

She added: “Minister, with all due respect, you’re judged on your actions, not empty words on this.

“Is it not the truth that you pulled this funding because you’re terrified that there was 2,400 applications in Belfast alone, 990 of them are being progressed and suddenly this support just disappears.

“Is that incompetence or is that deliberate contempt?”

Mr Lyons said “all of the facts and evidence” showed he had not cut funding for the project.

In subsequent exchanges with Ms Mason’s party colleague Maoliosa McHugh, the minister added: “I believe that this is a coordinated attack around this issue.”

He continued: “Many representatives of your party have said that I cut funding for this project, and that is just wrong, and it’s disappointing that the evidence has been produced today and people still fail to grasp that.”

Mr Gildernew challenged the minister’s contention, stating he was “absolutely flabbergasted” by some of his claims.

“You remind me increasingly, minister, like the arsonist who’s running around trying to blame the fire brigade for causing water damage,” he said.

“You have an excuse for everything and a solution for nothing when it comes to the Irish language.”

Mr Lyons said the committee chair’s claim that he had cut the project’s funding was a “fabrication and it had no basis in reality”.

“Both the chair and the deputy chair put out statements saying that I had cut funding, and I don’t know where they got that from,” he said.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons had a robust exchange with Sinn Féin members of his scrutiny committee yesterday

The minister added: “The fact is that I did not cut any funding, but that doesn’t fit his (Mr Gildernew’s) narrative. And what the chair did was make it up. He made it up. He said I cut funding. There’s no evidence for that. There’s no basis for that.

‘No justification’

“There’s no justification for him saying that. He made it up to suit his own political narrative. And we have provided the evidence today of how that is not the case. And they’re (Sinn Féin) ignoring the reality because they have their own narrative that they want to get out to distract, I have to say, from their own failings.

“And this is becoming quite common now – they just blame somebody else for their own failings.”

Mr Lyons continued: “I am, unlike yourself Mr Chairman, I have been honest, and I’ve been telling the truth on this issue, and I have not fabricated anything at all.”

The minister’s DUP colleague Pam Cameron defended his handling of the issue and accused Sinn Féin of pushing “lies” about Mr Lyons within the Irish language community for political gain.

“It’s terrible, it’s hateful, and it’s highly offensive to me,” said the DUP committee member.

“I’m really offended by the slant put on me as unionist, quite frankly.”

Mr Lyons insisted he had “no hatred or contempt for the Irish language”.

“I’m used to unfortunately in this job being lied about and having things said about me that just simply aren’t true in order to suit the political agendas of others,” he said.

“Unfortunately that comes with the job.

“I think what has annoyed me more is that even whenever evidence is provided, when the facts are laid out, when my department has been open in providing the information, others are denying the reality that’s in front of them in black and white.

“That’s something that I struggle with – that people can’t seem to accept the truth of the matter, and that they’re just doubling down and doubling down again and again.

“And if they think it’s short-term political gain, maybe it is, but long term, it’s not good for this place and it’s not good for people out there either who want us to address issues.

“There will be significant areas of disagreement that we have on issues around the Irish language and how it is dealt with in the public sphere.

“But it is particularly frustrating on this issue when it is crystal clear what has happened, yet some are still using it for political purposes.

“That’s disappointing.”

Racist violence ‘out of control’ with four hate crimes a day

CONOR COYLE, Irish News, May 15th, 2026

THE number of race-hate crimes being reported to the PSNI has reached unprecedented levels, with new figures showing an average of four reported every day.

Human rights campaigners have warned that racist violence in the north is “spiralling out of control” while migrants say not enough is being done by state agencies to tackle the problem.

Statistics published by police yesterday show that in the 12 months up to March 31 2026, 1,507 race-hate crimes were reported to the PSNI, while 2,367 race-hate incidents were reported.

That is 320 more hate crimes than the previous year, and 500 more hate incidents compared with a year ago.

Race-hate incidents include events where no crime was committed but where victims believe it to be motivated by a hostility or prejudice based on a person’s race.

The PSNI figures show a significant rise in the last two years in the numbers of crimes and incidents reported. The figures come after two years where nights of consecutive racist violence took place in parts of the north, most notably in Belfast and Ballymena.

The force has said the unrest in Ballymena directly contributed to the highest numbers of race-hate crimes since records began.

The unrest began after the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl – two Romanian teenagers were charged in connection with the incident but the charges were later dropped.

Over 100 people were subsequently arrested in connection with related disorder.

There are now almost twice as many race-hate crimes and incidents being reported as there were a decade ago in the north.

Azari Nasir, whose home and two young children were targeted in an attack in west Belfast last year, said she was “heartbroken to know that so many other families have been through what me and my children experienced”.

“We have been so afraid since the attack,” she said.

“Victims need the police and the politicians to take these crimes seriously so more people can be made accountable for their actions.”

Stormont’s failure to act

Amnesty International has said the Stormont Executive has “failed to protect Northern Ireland’s increasingly diverse society”.

In recent weeks, The Irish News spoke to a number of people from migrant backgrounds who say they don’t feel the PSNI and the justice system is doing enough to protect them.

“Racist violence is spiralling out of control in Northern Ireland. These shocking figures must be a wake-up call for political leaders,” Patrick Corrigan from Amnesty said.

“For years, minoritised communities have warned that racism is becoming normalised, and these record figures show those warnings were not heeded.

“The Stormont Executive has failed to protect Northern Ireland’s increasingly diverse society and has left many people feeling unsafe in their own communities.

“Tackling racism and race-hate crime in Northern Ireland requires not just a consistent response from the police but clear leadership from the executive.

“We need a coordinated anti-racism strategy, effective hate crime laws, proper support for victims, anti-racism education and clear political leadership that challenges racism wherever it appears.

“Right now, Northern Ireland lacks all of these.”

The PSNI has said it is “unacceptable” that individuals are targeted because of their race, and that it “will do everything possible to prevent and detect hate crime and bring those responsible before the courts”.

A 10-year Racial Equality Strategy run by The Executive Office between 2015 and 2025 has now finished, with an independent review determining that it was “undermined” by the lack of an action plan and “involvement of people with lived experience”.

Council launches probe into anti-migrant mural

NIALL McGREEVY, Belfast Telegraph, May 15th, 2026

GOFUNDME ALSO TAKES DOWN PAGE RAISING MONEY FOR NEWTOWNABBEY SITE

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council is investigating an anti-immigration mural that appeared at Doagh Road a fortnight ago.

The AI-generated banner shows cloaked men carrying Pakistan flags approaching a war veteran kneeling at a tombstone in a cemetery full of graves displaying Crusader crosses.

The mural reads: “Sorry it was all for nothing. It's on each and every one of us to save what our forefathers fought and died for.”

It also references Laurence Binyon's poem For The Fallen: “At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them.”

It has been condemned as racist, with the PSNI describing it as “offensive”.

Two men have been cautioned by police for causing criminal damage and displaying offensive material under the Public Order Act.

The council said: “The council's planning team has opened a planning case and the matter is under consideration.”

The mural is on the gable wall of a house on Doagh Road.

Days after it was erected, a GoFundMe page was set up to raise money for a memorial garden at the site “for the community to pause and reflect”.

But after more that £1,000 was raised, GoFundMe removed the page.

It said: “The fundraiser violates term 8.8, which prohibits 'any activity in support of terrorism, extremism, hate, violence, harassment, bullying, discrimination, terrorist financing, extremist financing, or money laundering'.”

The cash has since been used for a plaque, bench and chained gate around the mural.

At the official unveiling last Friday night, local man Andrew McCallion told Sunday Life the mural was not anti-immigration.

Police were on the ground at the unveiling, which was also attended by members of the far-right Advance UK party.

Number of child criminal exploitation victims up more than 300%

CLAUDIA SAVAGE, Irish News, May 15th, 2026

THE number of children identified as victims of criminal exploitation in Northern Ireland has risen by more than 300%, MLAs have been told.

Justice Department officials said the huge increase in just one year is the result of a localised referral scheme meaning more victims are being “identified, supported and protected”.

Child criminal exploitation (CCE) is when someone forces or coerces a child to commit crimes and can involve bribery, intimidation, violence or threats.

A report published in February by Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland chief inspector Jacqui Durkin outlined an “inconsistent” and at times “inadequate” criminal justice system response to child criminal exploitation in the region.

Justice Department officials Graham Walker and Colleen Cartwright joined Eilis McGrath from the Public Prosecution Service and PSNI colleagues in giving evidence to Stormont’s Justice Committee.

The national referral mechanism

(NRM) is a UK Home Office framework for identifying and supporting potential victims of modern slavery and CCE.

Mr Walker said Stormont’s justice and health departments have undertaken a Northern Ireland pilot scheme of devolving CCE red flags that “has already generated an increased number of referrals”.

“We believe that this will make a significant difference in strengthening awareness, improving recognition and enhancing decision-making in child exploitation cases,” he told the committee. “Importantly, we are already seeing evidence of improved identification.

“In 2025, 24 local children were identified as being exploited in Northern Ireland, compared with just five in 2024, that’s an increase of 375%.

“While those figures are deeply concerning, they also demonstrate that more children are now being recognised, formally identified, supported and protected. Crucially, it also means fewer children at risk of being unnecessarily criminalised.”

He outlined further measures being taken such as the establishment of a new criminal justice child exploitation forum.

He added: “Child criminal exploitation does not exist in isolation, it is often linked to organised crime, paramilitarism and multiple overlapping forms of abuse and exploitation.

“It presents a significant challenge for the criminal justice system and for wider society.”

Paramilitary influence

Zoe McKee, head of the PSNI’s public protection branch, said there would be “significant changes” stemming from the local referrals from the pilot scheme. “We now have a better depth of understanding in terms of the local issues, and with having the local panels and the assessment and the discussion for those agents who know that child best before it is even considered by Home Office, in terms of sort of conclusive findings, then I think it can only bring much, much more improvements that we need,” she said.

“But I think when you look at some of the stats there that Graham, our department justice colleagues have referenced, we are seeing in the very short space of time that the pilot has been running since January this year, significant increases in referrals.”

Alliance MLA Connie Egan questioned why the NRM “wasn’t aligned as well with Northern Ireland”, to create such a disparity in figures in one year.

PSNI assistant chief constable Davy Beck said the NRM “was very much aligned to human trafficking and modern slavery-type referrals, as opposed to that more nuanced coercive control”.

He added: “It probably wasn’t interpreted in the same way as the mechanisms were established and set up for, which was primarily around human trafficking and modern slavery, as opposed to what we tend to see in Northern Ireland, which is more linked to paramilitary influence and community coercive control, so I think it’s that differential.”

DUP MLA Brian Kingston referred to the Sentencing Bill currently in passage in the Assembly and asked if there is a risk “we end up considering all child criminal activity as child criminal exploitation, or do we recognise that in some cases a child is responsible for the criminal activity?”

If Farage is the future, a truly shared ‘New Ireland’ is a prize worth winning

LINZI MCLAREN, Irish News, May 15th, 2026

IN October 2025, while addressing the UUP conference, then leader Mike Nesbitt stated, rather insightfully: “While unionists have always looked over their shoulders at Irish nationalists as the biggest threat to Northern Ireland’s place in the UK, Irish nationalists have been knocked off the gold medal spot by English nationalism.”

It is fair to say no-one at the conference would have expected that a short six months later, this very proposition would be sending unionist press offices into a panic of spin and deflection, following the decimation of Labour and Conservative seats across Britain in favour of Nigel Farage’s Reform party.

The same speech alluded to a very palpable change in atmosphere in the halls of Westminster, where members walk around wearing the flag of St George on their lapels, not the Union flag of a shared nation, and an alarming attack on the block grant awarded to Scotland which obviously set English nationalists’ teeth on edge.

Imagine then how attractive the £19bn for Northern Ireland would be to the same English nationalists wanting better public services, health and wealth for the people of England alone?

Northern Ireland is already seen by some as a drain on the UK economy, with very little understanding, or indeed care, for our troubled history, our ineffective devolved government, and our diverse cultures which are continually at odds with one another.

There is no guarantee that Farage will become the UK’s next prime minister, but a week is a long time in politics, let alone the three years we have until the next general election, and you can bet your British pounds that he will be on full election mode from here on in.

Farage may appear outwardly to respect the sovereignty of Northern Ireland, but you would be hard pushed to find a man less trustworthy than one who would sell his soul for an eighty quid ‘shout-out’ on TikTok.

As the major architect of the self-inflicted wound that was Brexit, Farage was only too happy, or rather too ignorant, to the disastrous consequences for Northern Ireland. We were collateral damage and he didn’t give a damn.

He is keen for the UK to remove itself from the European Convention of Human Rights, a key driver of the Good Friday Agreement, which would potentially destabilise the peace deal. Would the same man lose much sleep over the prospect? I very much doubt it.

For decades, unionists have centred their world around three key benefits of the union: the NHS, the stability, security and international standing of being part of a world power, and the security blanket of economic support from London. On all three fronts, Westminster is failing us.

Could Nigel Farage be trusted to respect the sovereignty of Northern Ireland?

The NHS, which has so proudly and effectively delivered the cushion of free healthcare for many years, now lies in ruins. Farage himself has indicated a desire to move to an insurance-based healthcare system.

As for the stability of a powerful nation, I cannot help but think definitions would differ significantly depending on who is at the helm.

One would imagine a powerful nation need be one that displays morality, justice and compassion, and not, as Donald Trump would ferociously sell, military might combined with zero ethical discretion on when to use it.

“ A shared island of mutual consent, a merger of cultures, economies and societies, is a conversation we must now have

The picture of Trump humiliating world leaders in the White House comes to mind, and Keir Starmer’s visible squirm in his chair when called upon to show moral courage in speaking up in defence of Allied nations.

Now, visualise Farage in that chair, edging closer to Trump in a bid to practically sit on his lap, such is his sycophantic behaviour towards him.

Would Farage, if called upon to lend emphatic military support to America in ill-judged wars, be brave enough to deny him our young soldiers on a plate? I’m just not so sure he would need as much convincing as others.

And lastly, in a time when everyone across the UK and beyond is facing a cost of living crisis, there may well be tightening of the belt across the board, not just for Northern Ireland.

The Barnett formula already puts our spending higher in comparison with the rest of the UK and it is not unreasonable to suggest an English nationalist government may have a rethink when divvying up the cash.

As the constitutional question rages on in Northern Ireland, there are many factors in play. However, where once Irish nationalist ideology was dismissed as pie in the sky, the ducks are starting, very quickly, to fall into a row.

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn reacted to the recent election by stating that the ‘constitutional landscape in the UK has been shattered’. We now have three pro-independence leaders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, a combination of political ideology which cannot be ignored.

A shared island of mutual consent, a merger of cultures, economies and societies, is a conversation we must now have.

This mature approach to a New Ireland will ensure a thriving, long-lasting, harmonious way of life, ironing out the foreseeable concerns and planning together to overcome inevitable obstacles.

It is not victory of one dogma over another. If it is portrayed as such, the New Ireland will simply adopt the same fractious community that has gone before.

There must be a seat at the table for everyone. We have a very real chance at something remarkable. The question remains whether we will grasp it or waste it.

Man ordered to stand trial accused of murder

ALAN ERWIN, Irish News, May 15th, 2026

A MAN is to stand trial charged with the murder of Stephen Holmes in Co Tyrone, a judge ordered yesterday. Mr Holmes, 31, died in hospital following an alleged attack at a house in the Beechmount Village area of Strabane in February last year.

Dylan McCrossan, 32, appeared remotely from custody at Belfast Magistrates’ Court yesterday accused of his murder.

Proceedings were relocated after his brother had boiling water thrown over him before a previous scheduled hearing inside Strabane courthouse last month.

Both the murder accused and the man injured in the boiling water incident are brothers of SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan.

Defence solicitor Ciaran Shiels said the switch was due to concerns for the safety of his client’s family.

During the preliminary enquiry hearing, Dylan McCrossan, from Beechmount Village in Strabane, confirmed that he understood the charge against him.

Asked if he wanted to call witnesses or give evidence, he replied: “Not at this time.”

District Judge Natasha Fitzsimons backed prosecution submissions that he has a prima facie case to answer.

No further details about the alleged circumstances surrounding Mr Holmes’ death were disclosed during the brief hearing.

Granting the Crown’s application, Judge Fitzsimons ordered: “The accused is to be returned to the Crown Court (for trial) on a date to be fixed.”

Chaos at Westminister underlines need to break the shackles, says O’Neill

POL ALLINGHAM and DAVID YOUNG, Irish News, May 15th, 2026

THE ‘‘chaos’’ engulfing Westminster underlines the intensifying need to break away from the ‘‘shackles of Westminster’’, Michelle O’Neill has said.

Stormont’s first minister was speaking in London after meeting with the SNP and Plaid Cymru following their election victories last week.

The results of elections mean there is now a nationalist first minister in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Ms O’Neill was joined by Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald in London yesterday as they spoke to reporters about the election results and the internal turmoil within the Labour Party as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer continues to battle for his political future.

Ms McDonald said Westminster is witnessing ‘‘the kind of chaos that we experienced throughout the whole Brexit process’’.

Standing outside parliament, she added: ‘‘We’re here after a weekend of seismic change where, again, you see Scotland on the march, Wales on the march, an increasing realisation that Westminster does not serve the interests of the people – that certainly is the case for Ireland.

Good Friday Agreement

Noting Ms O’Neill met with the SNP and Plaid Cymru on Wednesday night, Ms McDonald added: ‘‘Our political engagements with them will continue and of course our call remains on the British Government to be true to the Good Friday Agreement, to honour in full its commitments, and to start preparations now for referendums for the reunification of Ireland.’’

The Sinn Féin leader told journalists current events in Westminster are ‘‘testing” and “challenging’’, adding: ‘‘Our concern is that Irish interests are not damaged in any way, whatever position or decision is taken here, by whoever it is that might occupy Number 10.’’

Ms O’Neill said the UK Government’s focus has been on ‘‘internal drama’’, rather than the cost of living, and ‘‘we need to break the shackles’’ from Westminster.

Sinn Féin’s vice-president said: ‘‘I think as the melodrama unfolds here… the people at home are left wondering, where’s the support for the cost of living? How are they going to get through these times?

‘‘We as an executive are in the middle trying to set a budget.

‘‘We’re engaged with the treasury, we’re engaged in the British Government (at) minister level, but their emphasis is not on those priorities, their emphasis is on this internal drama that’s happening in Westminster, so that does have a detriment to the people that we represent.

‘‘That’s why I think people understand, increasingly so, that their future needs to be beyond the limitations of this Westminster drama.

‘‘They brought us Brexit, they brought us austerity, they brought us chaos after chaos. I think people want better, deserve better, we want better for them too.

‘‘I think that’s why the conversation around breaking the link from Westminster is one that’s very acute right now.

‘‘I think the election results over the weekend, the people of Scotland have spoken, the people of Wales have spoken, and I believe increasingly so, the people at home know that their fortunes are much better in their own hands, and I think we need to break the shackles from Westminster.’’

‘‘I think that regardless of who occupies Number 10, they never have and never will prioritise our interests.’’

Earlier this week, Ms O’Neill spoke to SNP leader John Swinney and Plaid Cymru’s Rhun ap Iorwerth, who has since become first minister of Wales.

NI fishing industry facing 'perfect storm' which threatens 'serious decline' 

AMY COCHRANE, Belfast Telegraph, May 15th, 2026

FISHING FLEETS CALL FOR GOVERNMENT SUPPORT AFTER FUEL PRICES SOAR AND ISLE OF MAN RESTRICTIONS ON CREWS

Fishing fleets in Northern Ireland are claiming that the government has sold them a 'red herring' and left them to sink.

There are fears in the industry that rising fuel costs and fishing restrictions within the Irish Sea — combined with a looming deadline for foreign workers' visas — could herald the demise of the industry within the next few years.

A Co Down skipper and owner of a fleet of six trawlers has claimed that “there is no light at the end of the tunnel” and predicts that if decommissioning were offered, the majority of the Northern Irish fishing fleet would take it.

Simon Wills (54) has been fishing almost 40 years out of Ardglass harbour, starting when he was just 16.

“I see no light at the end of the tunnel now, I just see this tunnel closing in on us. I think we're fighting a beaten battle at the minute,” he said.

“We fish from St Patrick's Day to Halloween — not many days of fishing due to wet weather and climate change and all that, so we only fish about 100 days of the year, I'd say.

“If there was a decommissioning now, 95% of the Northern Ireland fleet would take it, there's not a penny to be made at it.

“I'd say in three years there won't be a boat left, we're all at breaking point. Something needs to happen now.

“Minister [Andrew] Muir hasn't met us once. He hasn't come down to actually see what's happening here, we're not getting any government help and we desperately need it.”

Simon said his profits each month are “almost non-existent” and his costs have doubled, and in some cases, trebled.

“The cost of fuel has risen from 65p to 125p, equating to about £2,500 to about £5,000 or £6,000 per week and we're just a small boat burning about 1,200 litres a day, but it's serious money per day,” he said.

“Langoustines are our mainstay and the prices have also dropped from £7.30 per kg to now around £5 per kg.”

With over 70% of the fishing fleet in Northern Ireland relying on non-UK workers, new immigration regulations coming into force at the end of this year will create more obstacles for skippers.

On December 31, 2026, overseas hiring via the Temporary Shortlist Concession will end, causing difficulty for fishermen travelling from abroad to work here.

Rules have already begun to tighten after English language proficiency requirements for skilled worker visas (SWVs) rose to B2 level back in January.

In February, the Isle of Man also started to enforce existing rules for the first time, requiring fishing crews from Northern Ireland to possess a specific Isle of Man work visa, which is not readily available to those on UK skilled worker or transit visas.

Few Irish fish or fishers

Many of Simon's crew are originally from Ghana and he is restricted heavily on where he can and cannot fish in the Irish Sea, much like the majority of the Northern Irish fleet.

As well as these visa requirements, the Isle of Man also introduced a rule where trawlers containing crew on SWVs and transit visas are essentially banned from fishing inside a 12-mile radius of Manx waters.

“What's happening in the Isle of Man is that there's this strip right up the middle — now, it's 27 miles from here to there — and we're restricted 12 miles off their coast, and 12 miles off our coast, so there's this three-mile strip that we're allowed to fish in and it's mayhem,” Simon explained.

“There's a fleet of powerful boats in this tiny area destroying it, and we don't want to be there.

“It's like having this motorway of five lanes and we're restricted to one and there's going to be serious accidents happening.

“I've tried to get workers from Northern Ireland, but no one wants to do this job any more and these restrictions are going to put us out of business. But maybe the Northern Irish government want to put us out of business because that's certainly how it looks in my eyes.”

Dick James (81) is the former chief executive of the Northern Ireland Fish Producers Organisation (NIFPO). He retired from his position seven years ago.

Dick owns two boats that fish out of Ardglass harbour, one of which is one of the very few allowed to fish in Manx waters.

He said that the fleet in Northern Ireland has been reduced from 150 at one time to about 40 now.

“Here in Ardglass we have less than 20 left, in Portavogie there's about a dozen and in Kilkeel a dozen as well,” he pointed out.

“And it's all because of this continued oppression by the government.

“I remember back in 1983, the public were queuing up for jobs in fishing, some people coming from as far as Portadown to get working on a fishing boat.

“The wages were fantastic and the business was booming, but nowadays you can't get crew and we have to recruit from further afield, and the visas are causing skippers and owners a total headache.”

Turn the clock back

When asked what his ideal solution was, Dick replied a “time machine to take me back to 1983”.

“These government regulations and devolution essentially causes a problem in the UK where each jurisdiction has different regulations, so you can't get on a boat and go from one area to another because the regulations are different.

“Basically, they just plain don't want you and now we have immigration coming in as a reason for not going to a different region.

“Everything is stacking up against the fishermen who are the last of the hunters; the world is trying to do away with them.

“The environmentalists see fishermen as enemies, as something which shouldn't be there, but the fact that we are catching fish to put on the table doesn't matter to them, and this has an impact on the food industry and the economy. It's only going to get worse.”

NIFPO chief executive Dr Lynn Gilmore claimed the fishing industry in Northern Ireland is facing a “perfect storm” and is calling for government support.

“It is no exaggeration to say industry is facing the perfect storm with some fishermen saying they are ready to throw in the towel and others raising concerns about the mental health and wellbeing of skippers and owners,” she said.

“Fishing communities right across the UK are resilient but have endured successive shocks over recent decades.

“The existential threats industry in Northern Ireland is now facing have impacts across supply chains in NI and the UK and affect fishermen, their families and communities.

“Government support is needed to ensure survival of the industry in NI. That support will need to encompass a joined-up approach from both devolved and UK Government.”

Last week, Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister Andrew Muir visited Isle of Man government officials to discuss Northern Ireland fishing crew rights.

He said he wanted to “engage with Isle of Man government ministers directly.”

“I am thankful to the ministers and their officials for what was a productive discussion on practical solutions to avoid disproportionate impacts on Northern Ireland vessels,” he said after visiting.

“I was very interested to learn about the research being undertaken in the Isle of Man to future-proof a sustainable fishing industry and the government's willingness to share and collaborate on science in relation to this.”

DAERA was approached for a comment on fuel cost subsidies for the fishing industry following a €100m Fuel Subsidy Support Scheme granted by the Irish government earlier this month to aid fishermen and farmers as oil prices soar.

In a statement, Mr Muir said: “I don't underestimate the challenges facing the fishing industry here, as with farming and for wider society who are dealing with rising fuel prices on top of already strained finances.

“My department will continue to support the fishing sector through the Marine Environment and Fisheries Fund, to future-proof businesses sustainably and build resilience of operations.

“We are monitoring the situation with fuel prices , but the UK Government has a role to play here and I, as well as Assembly colleagues, have called upon the Prime Minister to support those under additional pressure,” Mr Muir added.