Oakgrove Integrated College, Derry, offers new model for Legacy debates

‘Victims event at Oakgrove Integrated College was a massive success due to the students’

Raymond McCord, Victims campaigner, North Belfast, Belfast, February 18th, 2026

Their questions and opinions showed how much the three victims stories moved them.

A new way forward for students learning the real truth of the Troubles and the failures of our courts and justice system.

Not one "marking the territory flag flying" or needed.

Not one sectarian comment or threats to people with different opinions from those who threaten and fear truth and justice.

This was a day that helped those students to have a better understanding of the Troubles.

Truth makes a hell of a persuader.

The realisation of the difference of political truth and the victims version was very evident today.

To those students present today we victims thank them for sitting and listening with an open mind.

Democracy moved forward today and it brought a debate of truth and justice with honesty from the three victims telling the stories and also with the honest  thoughts and opinions of our future voters and leaders, the students.

Mr. John Harkin the headmaster should be made Minister of Education, his students are more important than any political narratives or sectarian agenda as John works solely for the benefit and the futures of his students.

Today he ensured his students along with international students from Seattle were given an opportunity to listen and decide if the three victims stories gave them an insight to truth and justice. 
Clearly listening to comments and feedback from them it was a successful day all round.

Thank you John Harkin and thank you to the students, the stars of yesterday’s event.

A decade on, former police station is sold

JOHN BRESLIN, Irish News, February 18th, 2026

A FORMER police station in the centre of a Co Down border town has finally been sold, more than a decade after the last officers left the building.

“Cast-iron” assurances were previously given that a memorial to a young women killed in an IRA bomb attack on Warrenpoint Police Station will remain in place, whatever happens, a legal representative for the family said.

The mystery purchaser of the site is not revealing what is planned for the Charlotte Street site close to the Square, though the agent involved in the sale said “it is a local buyer”. It went on the market a year ago with a £375,000 price tag.

Warrenpoint station closed to the public in 2014 but was officially and finally shut in 2018. There have been proposals to build a council community centre, social housing and even for a time a post-Brexit goods check facility.

While the reinforced wall at the front of the building was torn down in recent years, one small part containing the memorial to 20-year-old Joanne Reilly remained in place.

Ms Reilly was killed in April, 1989, when an IRA bomb, left in a car to the rear of the hardware shop where she worked, exploded. The IRA later said the bomb exploded prematurely, claiming a timing switch was tripped by mistake and apologised to those bereaved and injured.

‘Cast iron assurances’

Following its closure, family solicitor Rosemary Connolly said “cast iron assurances remain in situ… and nothing has changed”.

“We expect this to be honoured,” Ms Connolly added,

New homes ‘absolutely needed’ in Warrenpoint

“It is a bit of an eyesore but less so since they took all the walls down,” said local councillor Mickey Ruane.

“Everybody would love to see it redeveloped and most definitely (that) will improve the site.”

The Sinn Féin representative added that new homes are “absolutely needed” in the town, noting that, like many places, there are difficulties finding places to rent.

Discussions over what might happen to the former station first began a decade ago after the PSNI placed the building on the market, restricted initially to other government bodies.

Newry, Mourne and Down Council discussed buying the site to turn into a community centre but the PSNI in 2018 called off talks due to “uncertainty surrounding Brexit”.

Its proximity to the port and potential use as a ‘border’ check point was cited as the reason.

In late 2022, it was announced the site would be sold for use as social housing, but that plan was also scrapped.

Selling agents Lisney noted the Republic was just 500 metres southeast of Warrenpoint across Narrow Water but currently 11 miles by road. A bridge across the water is under construction, which will reduce the distance to one mile.

Casement motion fails as MLAs reject clawback on profit from non-GAA events

CLAUDIA SAVAGE and CONOR SHEILS, Irish News, February 18th, 2026

MLAs have voted against a proposal to allow Stormont to claim a “proportion of revenue” from non-GAA events at Casement Park.

TUV MLA Timothy Gaston tabled a motion claiming it is “unjustifiable for public money to underwrite the scale of funding” for the stadium and called for a legally enforceable clawback mechanism to recover some profits.

Some demolition work began at Casement Park last month where plans for a 34,000-capacity stadium at the site have been delayed because of a major funding shortfall.

Sinn Féin Finance Minister John O’Dowd pledged more than £100 million for the redevelopment in his draft budget that is currently out for consultation but has not been agreed by other Executive parties.

Mr Gaston expressed opposition to the building of Casement and his “profound issues with the GAA” but said the debate yesterday was about whether “the taxpayer of Northern Ireland is to be treated as an unlimited underwriter of a major commercial venue with no share in return”.

Simple proposition

“The proposition is simple,” he told the Assembly.

“If public money underwrites the stadium, if public money fills the gap, if non-GAA concerts and fixtures generate substantial commercial profit, then it’s totally unacceptable and unjustifiable for the public to carry the cost while private bodies retain the reward.”

In a later intervention the MLA for North Antrim clarified he has no issue that “any future investment that goes into Windsor (Park), any future investment that goes into Ravenhill, once the line in the sand is drawn, clawback should be enacted”.

People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll tabled an amendment that would introduce a clawback mechanism for “any stadia currently in construction or to be constructed in future”.

He said the principle of non-sporting events contributing to “the public purse” when they’ve received public funding is “a worthwhile principle and an agreeable one”.

“My concern though with the original motion, and hence the amendment, is that it singles out the GAA exclusively,” he said.

“My amendment means that the same should apply to all stadiums that receive public funding.

“For example, if there’s a large music concert or event in Windsor or Ravenhill and it’s lucrative, profitable, surely the same clawback model should exist that is being proposed here for Casement Park? And if not, that does seem to be just an attempt to stick the boot in the GAA for the sake of it.”

“We expected the motion not to pass,” the TUV’s Sammy Morrison told The Irish News.

“I think there was a lot of misconceptions about what was actually being debated.

Taxpayers return on investment

“Timothy was very clear that this would apply to any project going forward. And that given the scale of the investment, in Casement’s case, the taxpayer has a right to expect that there would be some return from that.

“This is a private venture which is going to be funded by the public purse to a private organisation. And given the contribution which the GAA is proposing to give, I think it’s a modest suggestion that a proportion of the revenue raised from non-GAA events would be returned to the public purse.

“If there was a situation where there was public money going to Windsor Park for a major redevelopment such as this, then Windsor Park would apply to that fund, and a condition of the contract would be that a proportion of non-football revenue out of Windsor Park would go to the public purse.

“It would only currently apply to Casement, yes, but we were happy to accept an amendment that it had been applied to the future provision of stadiums. But not for present funding, no — because you can’t go back and say because you got funding in 2011 we’re going to impose a condition that wasn’t there.

“We’re going to be reminding everybody that voted against this motion today that that’s now their position, and we would expect them to hold to that going forward.”

Mr Gaston’s motion was not ratified as 31 members voted in favour and 46 members against.

If NI needs new concert venue, one of the biggest sites in Europe beckons

MARK BAIN, Belfast Telegraph, February 18th, 2026

The days and nights of the big Boucher Road Playing Fields concerts could be coming to an end. I suppose the name of the venue gives it all away: they have, after all, been 'playing fields' relating to sporting matters, not drums, guitars and the odd fiddle or two.

Realistically, apart from being an open space near enough to the centre of Belfast, the venue was never an ideal place for thousands to descend on. Heavily industrialised, heavily retailed, the chances of getting parked in the area when roads were closed off were non-existent, forcing anyone travelling by car into the backstreets around the Lisburn Road. And that's never an easy place to get parked at the best of times.

Little wonder, then, that those who live there were never too fond of those Ed Sheeran concerts, the Bruce Springsteen shows, even the weekend-long Farmer's Bash, all happening on the other side of the rail tracks. Residents already put up with Windsor Park — and on international football nights, that's often 18,000 people. The concerts could attract up to 40,000 per show.

I've been to gigs at Boucher Road Playing Fields a couple of times in recent years, but more often, I'm in the area in the role of the dutiful dad picking up a son or daughter and a friend or two. Well, attempting to at least.

More often, that involves sitting in traffic at the roundabout at the 'Balls on the Falls', edging closer and closer, watching the phone for messages and hoping that, by luck rather than planning, I happen to spot who I'm looking for. Not easy when the hordes are descending around your car, walking in the main road, and other drivers on a similar mission as me have abandoned all hope of a successful snatch-and-run and have simply parked up, blocking the street.

You could never get on to Boucher Road itself. Traffic restrictions prevented access, for the obvious health and safety reasons. Problem was, those health and safety concerns were only moved half a mile down the road.

It was always chaotic, and in the wrong part of the city — the Royal Victoria Hospital just around the corner and the City Hospital not far away.

Belfast is not blessed with open-space areas where such big concerts can be held. Ormeau Park has been the main venue for Belsonic, which has attracted many of the top names in music over the years, but alternative locations are few and far between.

If only there was somewhere else within a reasonable distance. Somewhere, say, around 347 acres and one of the largest owned, single public sector sites in western Europe. Somewhere that has already proved that it can host thousands of people but currently only does so for a few days every year. The rest of the time it lies dormant, awaiting regeneration... and never being regenerated.

Balmoral shows the way

The no-longer-in-Balmoral Show has made its base at the Maze site, near Lisburn. And it hasn't done the world of farming and rural enterprise much harm in moving a little bit out of Belfast to find the room to breathe.

It's just 12 miles away. A 20-minute bus ride. It could and should have been the home of a national stadium for the country, where all sports could have come together — and at a fraction of the cost, by today's hugely inflated building costs.

Yes, it is famous as the former home of the Long Kesh prison, the H-Blocks and all the baggage that comes with it. A quarter of a century has passed since it officially closed in 2000 — a fact some people seem to have difficulty getting over.

The site will be seen as a possible 'shrine to terrorism' only by those who wish to think of it that way. And if we all thought like that, wouldn't every town and village in Northern Ireland be treated as a shrine in some respect?

It is time that site was handed over to a new generation. A generation born after the Good Friday Agreement. A generation who knows little of the past Troubles their parents lived through and who wish for nothing more than big nights out, the best artists to perform and, of course, to join a crowd of thousands for all the atmospheric thrills that that brings.

What better way to move on from the images of the H-Blocks than to see thousands of young people gathering to enjoy themselves? It's only right that the youth, who inherit the legacy we leave behind us as a country, can take over a site and shape it for themselves.

It may never be a rival to Glastonbury for the mystique. But imagine a similar-style music festival over a long summer weekend, room for the tented villages, the biggest stars of the music scene all arriving to perform, and the young feet of today trampling an unwelcome memory of all our pasts firmly into the ground.

Finding a perfect spot for such major concerts and events doesn't have to be the sole responsibility of Belfast City Council. There are opportunities there, if only we could see beyond the fog of the past and fix our sights on what the future could hold.

RUC ‘flooded’ with information in weeks after IRA man’s shooting

CONNLA YOUNG, CRIME AND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, Irish News, February 18th, 2026

Francis Bradley was killed in an SAS ambush 40 years ago today

DOCUMENTS released during the inquest of IRA man Francis Bradley reveal the extent of information the RUC received in the weeks and months after his death.

Francis Bradley (20) was shot eight times during an undercover ambush close to an arms dump near Toome on February 18, 1986 – 40 years ago today.

In October 2024 a coroner found the use of force was “reasonable” – a finding which is being challenged through the courts.

Previously unknown details of the SAS operation that claimed Mr Bradley’s life emerged during a 2024 inquest.

However, inked documents now seen by The Irish News, also reveal the extent of intelligence received by the RUC in the aftermath of the SAS ambush.

While some information is redacted via Public Interest Immunity, other material provides a glimpse into intelligence available to state agencies One PSNI document marked “intelligence report” and “secret”, dated June 2003, reveals the police knew the IRA had relaunched an investigation into the circumstances of Mr Bradley’s killing at that time.

A similar document, dated May 2023, contains the same information.

It is understood that a re-investigation was prompted after fresh questions about the case were raised by members of the Bradley family.

During Mr Bradley’s inquest, the British soldiers responsible for killing him were referred to as a Specialist Military Unit.

The police documents confirm the “fatal wounds were inflicted by the SAS” – a rare admission of the unit’s involvement.

The documents also state the IRA did not immediately admit Mr Bradley was a member out of “respect for the family”.

Other documents suggest two weapons found close to Mr Bradley when he was shot were to be used in a planned IRA operation, which had been abandoned.

Another police file, dated March 23, 1986 – a month after the fatal shooting – confirms a person whose name is redacted told police “that he was having problems with the South Derry PIRA”.

As an example, the police document says, he mentioned the “man recently shot dead” – a reference to Mr Bradley.

Bradley not PIRA member

“He explained that this man had not been a member of PIRA but had carried out more operations than any of the volunteers in that area,” the document states.

The source also claimed Mr Bradley and others had encountered an “undercover surveillance car” before dumping the weapons behind a nearby property.

At the inquest, two British soldiers told the coroner how they were confronted by a car carrying five men, which was described as a “PIRA vehicle”, after the registration was relayed over the radio.

The pair said they had earlier seen Mr Bradley standing behind a parked car close to a disused railway line near the ambush site.

The weapons recovered when Mr Bradley was shot included an AR-15, which was later linked to the killing of an SAS man during a shoot-out near Maghera in Co Derry in March 1978.

In a follow-up operation, IRA hunger striker Francis Hughes, who was wounded in the gun battle, was arrested.

A second weapon recovered after Mr Bradley was shot, an FN-FNC, had only been used once before during a gun attack at Castledawson RUC station in December 1985, for which Mr Bradley was later questioned.

The documents also reveal details of an IRA arms dump discovered near Maghera in March 1986.

Intelligence documents suggest the two guns, .223 Armalite rifles, may have been brought into the south Derry area to replace the pair recovered after Mr Bradley was killed.

Information contained in “intelligence reports” touch on the activities and modus operandi of the IRA in south Derry at the time.

The documents also reveal how the RUC became aware of the Maghera dump, which included two balaclavas and two pairs of gloves, and suggest the weapons, which had loaded magazines, were ready for use.

Describing the loss of the guns as a “setback” for the local IRA group, one intelligence document suggests they will be replaced.

The document also states where other IRA arms dumps at the time were located.

False claims over informer caused family ‘mental turmoil’

CONNLA YOUNG, Irish News, February 18th, 2026

THE brother of an IRA member shot dead in disputed circumstances has spoken of the mental turmoil caused by false claims about the alleged role of an informer in the killing.

Francis Bradley (20) was shot eight times during an undercover ambush at an arms dump near Toome in February 1986.

His name was later added to the IRA’s roll of honour.

An inquest held over several months in 2024 found that Mr Bradley was initially shot while presenting his rear to the shooter – Solider A – one of two British soldiers to open fire.

A second SAS member, known as Soldier C, fired 20 shots, including a burst of three rounds at close range as he lay on his back.

In the months before the ambush, Mr Bradley was told by members of the RUC that he wouldn’t see his 21st birthday.

A coroner later found the use of lethal force was “reasonable” – a finding which is being challenged through the courts.

During the inquest, evidence was heard from a witness known as C3, a close friend of Mr Bradley.

A former republican prisoner, he denied passing on any information that resulted in the death of his former friend.

The denial came after another witness made false claims about the behaviour of C3 on the night of the ambush.

Mr Bradley’s brother, Brian Bradley, now says the untrue claims caused him mental anguish.

“In the years following Francis’s tragic death, myself and my family have endured an immense amount of pain and heartache,” he said.

Well known businessman

“For many years we were led to believe that Francis had been set up by his best friend, who was a well known businessman and republican.

“The narrative caused not just confusion but emotional and mental turmoil as I struggled to understand the truth, which led me to be dubious of everyone I thought I trusted,” he said.

Mr Bradley added that the witness apologised during the inquest.

Mr Bradley acknowledged that although his family had an inquest, the near 40-year wait was “unacceptable” and raised concerns that British soldiers were allowed to give their evidence remotely.

“Soldier A did tell the inquest he fired a shot, which hit Francis, who then fell to the ground,” he said.

“Francis was no longer a target and Soldier A moved on.

“Soldier C then shot Francis as he lay on his back helpless, he then wouldn’t answer any questions about this at the inquest.”

Mr Bradley was unhappy with the overall findings and questioned whether “the SAS acted with reasonable force”.

“With all the evidence he received, anyone could see it was a ‘shoot-to-kill’.”

Solicitor Fearghal Shiels, of Madden and Finucane said: “We will now proceed with our legal challenge to the findings handed down by the coroner, which we contend are directly at odds with the evidence, and in particular the expert scientific evidence, presented to the inquest.

“The coroner’s conclusions offer no detailed or forensic analysis of the evidence and in our view do not withstand scrutiny.”

Son of IRA man killed by army calls on MP to apologise for remarks

CONNLA YOUNG, Irish News, February 18th, 2026

THE son of an IRA man shot dead by the British army has asked a Tory MP to apologise over comments made during a Westminster debate.

Stan Carberry spoke out after Sir David Davis mentioned his father’s controversial killing during a legacy debate in the House of Commons last month.

Mr Davis is opposed to Labour Party plans to repeal his party’s contentious Legacy Act, which came into force in May 2024.

The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 ended all inquests and civil cases, as well as introducing conditional immunity.

During last month’s debate about a remedial order connected to the Troubles Legacy Bill, Mr Davis referred alleged republicans killed and injured by the British army during the Troubles, including Stanislaus Carberry (34).

Mr Carberry was killed as he travelled in a hijacked car on the Falls Road in west Belfast on November 13 1972.

The circumstances of Mr Carberry’s killing are disputed and his family later took a civil case.

In his comments, during a debate on January 21, Mr Davis was addressing what he called attempts to “rewrite history” and legal cases taken against the Ministry of Defence.

Sir David Davis made the comments in the House of Commons last month

Damages for PIRA member shot by British Army

He took aim at civil cases taken against the state including one where an IRA member was awarded £75,000 compensation after being wounded in 1992 in Clonoe. Mr Davis then added: “In 2023, the family of Stan Carberry tried to sue the Ministry of Defence for his death in 1972. Carberry, an IRA volunteer, was killed after a soldier returned fire at the vehicle that he was shooting from.”

In 2023 a High Court judge said a claim for damages was time-barred from continuing.

With some of the ex-troops either dead or untraceable, Mr Justice McAlinden dismissed the action brought on behalf of Mr Carberry’s family due to the risk of unfairness.

The dead man’s son Stan Carberry said that while he accepted the judge’s assessment, he questioned the role of the Ministry of Defence “regarding the engagement of soldiers with the processes available to establish the truth for families such as ours”.

“An English politician, a senior Tory MP, used a comment in the British parliament, to impugn the reputation of my father and myself and my family by not stating the facts accurately,” he said.

“That is why I have asked him for an apology and for Hansard to be corrected.

“Without this the public record is wrong and a British state narrative of what is truth is incorrectly imposed as a stain on the memories of families still grieving for their loved ones and still waiting answers to questions.”

Christopher Stanley of Relatives for Justice said: “The inability to locate a key military witness – as has been so often the case – did not enable the court to establish liability to the degree required by the law.”

It has been reported that during the debate Mr Davis didn’t declare a £250,000 donation from a holiday firm Trailfinders, which was set up by a former SAS soldier.

His register of financial interests states the cash is “for campaigning activity related to the prosecution of Northern Ireland veterans”.

Mr Davis was contacted for comment.

‘Locals only’ graffiti daubed on homes of healthcare workers

HANNAH PATTERSON, Irish News, February 18th, 2026

‘LOCALS only’ graffiti smeared across the homes of healthcare workers in Co Antrim has been branded “sickening”.

Alliance Party councillor Neill Kelly said the incident in the Ballycraigy area of Antrim will intimidate ‘good people’ from the area.

Police are treating the report in the Garden Village area as a racially motivated hate crime.

Ms Kelly, who worked as a registered nurse, told The Irish News that he knows some of the people affected, who he said are mostly from Africa.

He said: “These people who contribute to society. They are great people, good people, hard-working people. They are hard-working nursing staff, working six days a week, keeping their heads down, getting on with it. To have that graffiti up here is intimidating and it’s not really what Antrim is about.

“We have a long history of hospitals in our area, and I like to think we welcome people coming in, especially those who are contributing to society.

“I do appreciate there are housing shortages and issues, but when people are here working hard and contributing to society, this is not the way we should be treating those people.

“There is quite a bit of it (racist graffiti) around the general area of Ballycraigy. We had some problems in there with housing about a year and a half ago, in summer of 2024.

“People moved out due to the intimidation and the graffiti and some of them moved on. I don’t want to see that happening again, I thought we’d moved on from that within the area.

“It’s saddening for me as a guy who grew up in Antrim town, from a nursing background, it’s sickening for me to see what’s happening here, and my heart goes out to those victims, those people who are probably scared and intimidated. Hopefully, they will continue to contribute to our town.”

A PSNI spokesperson said: “We believe this damage may have been caused recently, and we are treating this report as a racially-motivated hate crime, with enquiries continuing.

“There is no place in our society for this type of behaviour, and I would ask anyone with any information to contact police.”

Minister who admitted destroying notes asks congregations not to delete records

ANGELA DAVISON, Belfast Telegraph, February 18th, 2026

Congregations in the Presbyterian Church have been sent an email asking them not to destroy any material in relation to safeguarding, including minutes of meetings, records, reports and evidence of record destruction.

The letter, from Deputy Clerk Rev Peter Gamble, suggests it has been sent at the behest of the PSNI as part of its ongoing criminal investigation into the church.

It has caused surprise to some, as the Belfast Telegraph previously reported that Rev Gamble had destroyed notes himself in an unrelated matter.

In his latest email, Rev Gamble states: “The PSNI has asked that we write to you to advise you that it is essential that all congregations take immediate steps to preserve all church documentation and material relating to its safeguarding activities.

“No documentation, records or materials — whether in paper or electronic form — are to be destroyed, deleted, or otherwise disposed of until further notice.

“This applies to all forms of material, including, but not limited to, minutes, correspondence, reports and any other documents relevant to church safeguarding activities or safeguarding administration.

“The preservation of these materials is crucial to ensure the denomination's full cooperation with the authorities and to safeguard the integrity of the investigative process.”

Attached to the email was a detailed list of the material identified by the PSNI as potentially relevant.

In 2017, Rev Gamble was the Clerk of Armagh Presbytery, helping to oversee a number of church ministers in the area.

They included the late Rev Barry Reid, who was falsely accused of having an “inappropriate relationship” with a member of one of his congregations, based on one anonymous phone call.

Rev Gamble, along with Rev Lachlan Webster, a senior figure in the Armagh Presbytery, confronted the late Rev Reid in his home about the rumours, which Rev Reid always strongly denied.

However, to preserve the good name of his family and the other woman accused of being involved, Rev Reid resigned from his ministerial role in Caledon and Minterburn Presbyterian Churches, believing that would be the end of the matter, with Rev Gamble advising him by text that it was “the right decision”.

‘Worst experience of her life’

In an interview after her husband's death, Ashley Reid told this newspaper that she and her husband believed the issue to be resolved. However, the then-Clerk of the General Assembly, Rev Trevor Gribben, set up a commission to investigate the matter, which Rev Reid's widow described as “the worst experience of her life” and explained how she was told that her husband's resignation was seen as an admission of his guilt.

Six months after Rev Reid's resignation, a controversial meeting took place, set up by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI), where people from Rev Reid's two congregations could come along and anonymously share their opinion of him.

But vital minutes from the meeting were destroyed by Rev Gamble, who admitted to this in an email and said it was “standard policy”.

However, this action is contrary to the Presbyterian Code which says it is the Clerk's responsibility to preserve minutes and that they should not be destroyed without consultation with the Clerk of Assembly.

The admission prompted Rev Reid to write to Rev Gamble before his death, asking why the notes were destroyed and if the then Clerk of the General Assembly was consulted.

Last November, 18 months after her husband's death, Mrs Reid expressed her astonishment that someone who admitted destroying crucial notes was now in post as the General Assembly's Deputy Clerk.

The mother-of-two also called for more senior officials to resign after the resignation of Trevor Gribben.

She remains angry at how the church treated her and her late husband, saying: “There has been a veil of secrecy in the PCI for years, where those at the top have not been transparent in their dealings, pushing out people who don't fit with their agenda.

“Barry was treated so unfairly. They punished us for something they know wasn't true, but no one ever said to us they got it wrong.

“There are systemic issues within the PCI. It's bigger than Trevor Gribben.”

Another Special Assembly has been called by the church, which will take place today at Assembly Buildings.

A spokesperson for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland said: “The email sent by Rev Gamble Deputy Clerk yesterday was sent at the request of PSNI, and Rev Gamble has no other comment to make.”

'Troubled Presbyterians' hit out again at church leaders' response

ANGELA DAVISON, Belfast Telegraph, February 18th, 2026

A group of church rebels calling themselves 'Troubled Presbyterians' have hit out again with another email to ministers.

The latest correspondence blasts church leaders who attended December's Special General Assembly, claiming they failed to address the “avalanche of accusations” made against the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) since the departure of former Moderator Dr Trevor Gribben last November.

The group's comments came ahead of Wednesday's special assembly, which the church says will address “pressing matters” that have come to light as a result of the ongoing safeguarding scandal.

The email, sent to around 500 ministers, says the report circulated ahead of the latest meeting gives no reassurance that past issues will be addressed, saying the meeting looks to be “just another cynical event, tightly controlled by those who exercise power.”

It also acknowledges disappointment that concerns around the use of non-disclosure agreements, pointed out during the last Assembly meeting by Rev Susan Moore, were largely ignored and pointedly asks what needs to happen before the PCI finally “acknowledges the depth of its culpability in the crisis in which it now finds itself”.

Ongoing investigation

The group then refers to the ongoing investigation by the PSNI, as well as the statutory inquiry announced by the Charity Commission.

A spokesperson for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland said, “We are aware of the circulation of another anonymous email from those who describe themselves as 'Troubled Presbyterians'. While wishing to refute much of what has been stated in their email, on the basis of the ongoing police investigation and the inquiry by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, we are limited in how we can respond.

“At the Special Assembly on 18 February reports will be brought which will update the denomination on progress being made on several fronts emerging from the similar meeting of the Assembly on 18 December.

“These matters will include the appointment process for the post of Clerk of the General Assembly (which being time-limited must be addressed now) and in addition some reflection on the work of the Assembly and its Moderator-Designate at the meeting of the Assembly in June.

“In all the work of the Assembly regarding safeguarding, the needs of those who have been hurt or otherwise impacted in the past remains our primary concern, and further reports on progress will be brought to the General Assembly in June.”

Changes to the role of Clerk and General Secretary of the General Assembly have been proposed by a task group looking into the revision of the post.

If agreed, it would see the role split into two full-time jobs with the role of clerk remaining as well as the creation of a new director of operations role.

The posts will also be opened up to allow elders as well as ministers to apply.

'Asbestos bonfire' site inspected seven times in just eight years, but the hazardous material remained

ANDREW MADDEN, Belfast Telegraph, February 18th, 2026

DESPITE SAFETY WARNINGS, PYRE IN VILLAGE AREA WAS LIT LAST SUMMER

Belfast City Council (BCC) inspected a city bonfire site containing hazardous asbestos on seven occasions over an eight-year period from 2012 to 2020, but took no enforcement action to remove all the material, it can be revealed.

The site on Meridi Street in the Village area hit the headlines last summer when a bonfire was built on the land, despite warnings that there was a significant amount of asbestos present.

The pyre was also close to an electricity substation and primary school.

Prior to the Eleventh Night, the council had agreed to remove the bonfire, but these plans were scuppered when the PSNI refused to assist in the task due to the risks involved.

“Following comprehensive engagement with all relevant stakeholders, an evidence-based assessment, and taking into consideration all of the risks associated with the removal, we have determined that police should not assist the proposed actions of Belfast City Council,” the PSNI said at the time.

Boron Developments

The site is now owned by Boron Developments, which was told about the asbestos when it purchased it in 2017. However, Belfast City Council and the NI Environment Agency (NIEA) have been aware of the material since at least 2011.

In 2011, the council took enforcement action on the then-owners of the site and ordered them to have it cleared of asbestos. This did not happen, so BCC had to hire its own contractors to carry out the work, at a cost of just over £287,000. Despite this, asbestos remained at the site.

In 2014, an NIEA investigation led to two company directors who owned former factory units on the site receiving suspended sentences for dumping tonnes of asbestos on the land.

For years after this, asbestos remained on the site and it wasn't until last August that the current owners began remedial work. However, last week the NIEA revealed the work had been completed on November 21, but “fragments of asbestos” were still present later.

Now, it has emerged that Belfast City Council actually inspected the site several times between 2012 and 2020, but did not take action to remove all the asbestos, despite the hazardous material being visible on the land.

Satellite imagery shows that substantial amounts of asbestos remained at the site from 2010 until the most recent remediation work last year.

Information obtained by the Belfast Telegraph shows that the first inspection took place on April 17, 2012, with another on August 25, 2015. There were three inspections in 2018, and two in 2020, with the latest being on June 15, 2020.

Just how much asbestos was at the site prior to the bonfire being lit last July is unclear. But in the days prior to the Eleventh Night, the NIEA said suspected asbestos had been found at five locations on the land, with 20kg of material removed.

There remained a “pile” of material believed to be contaminated with asbestos, which the NIEA covered with a tarpaulin, quarry dust and fire blankets. Fences and warning signage was also erected, with police and NIEA contractors undertaking daily inspections.

The bonfire went ahead as planned on the Eleventh Night, drawing large crowds. Environment Minister Andrew Muir later said he was “very disappointed” that the bonfire was lit despite public safety warnings over the site.

After the pyre was lit, it emerged that the NIEA had launched an environmental crime investigation regarding the asbestos.

In August, Boron Developments said it was “not aware” of the investigation and that it was in “weekly contact” with the relevant authorities regarding the removal of the hazardous material.

Unfinished remedial work

Remediation work began the same month, after the NIEA set a deadline of September 1 for the site to be cleared of asbestos.

This deadline was missed, however, and last week it emerged that the remediation work was apparently completed on November 21 — but still asbestos remained during a follow-up inspection.

“The preliminary report of the independent assessment has confirmed the remaining presence of fragments of asbestos on the site, which were left behind after the landowner's remediation work,” the NIEA said.

The NIEA said the material “currently presents minimal risk” within the secure site. But it added: “These risks increase where members of the public trespass onto this privately owned land.

“For public health reasons, NIEA urges that unauthorised persons should not, under any circumstances, access this site. Unauthorised access to the site could amount to a criminal offence.”

The statement said: “NIEA will continue to work with the landowners, Belfast City Council, the Public Health Agency, the PSNI and other partners on this matter. Due to the fact that this matter is subject to ongoing legal proceedings, NIEA is unable to comment further.”

A spokesperson for Belfast City Council said: “Remediation of the Meridi Street site is the responsibility of the landowner and NIEA is the relevant enforcement authority for waste regulation.

“The council took enforcement action at the Meridi Street site in 2011 under public health legislation to deal with high-risk asbestos containing materials which were disturbed due to demolition works.

“Whilst respecting NIEA's role as the lead enforcement agency in relation to this site, the council has continued to respond to service requests to review the situation and provided advice where appropriate. The council will continue to work with NIEA and other statutory partners in relation to this site.”

Boron Developments has been contacted for comment.

Placing our language at the very heart of a new Ireland

JULIAN DE SPÁINN, Irish News, February 18th, 2026

PLATFORM

CONRADH na Gaeilge, The Gaelic League, is one of the oldest language organisations in Europe. Founded in 1893, the organisation quickly became a catalyst for linguistic and cultural protection and promotion and transformed the political, social and cultural fabric of the nation.

In many ways, it became the language equivalent of An Cumann Lúthchleas Gael (GAA), founded only nine years earlier, with many of the same pioneers and patrons supporting the early development of both. This ‘Gaelic Renaissance’ would quickly spread across Ireland, with branches of Conradh na Gaeilge being set up in every corner of the island.

For over 130 years Conradh na Gaeilge has been a leading light for community-based cultural activism and is internationally recognised as a prominent voice in many high profile campaigns for language rights and equality, both north and south.

In recent years, the organisation has worked tirelessly alongside community campaigns for an Irish Language Act, which, through An Dream Dearg, became one of the most powerful and dynamic community movements in the history of the northern state, bringing together over 20,000 people to the city hall in Béal Feirste in 2022 for the historic Lá Dearg.

Only days later, the British government conceded that they could no longer ignore their previous commitments and long-overdue language legislation would be introduced in Westminster, leading to the recent appointment of the north’s first ever Irish Language Legislation, the repeal of the 1737 ban on Irish in courts, and historic legislative status for the language in the six counties. All of this was legally commenced in Westminster at the end of January 2026 as a direct result of that community-led campaign.

In the south, An Conradh has similarly advocated for the amended Official Languages Act. It is currently heavily engaged in long-running community efforts to provide bespoke housing provision for the Gaeltacht, whilst strongly advocating for an education system that supports the learning of Irish from nursery to third level, placing a strong emphasis on teaching the language as a living language and using Irish-medium education as a catalyst to create sustainable language communities from the bottom up.

Democratic forum

Conradh na Gaeilge is a member-led organisation, notably labelled ‘the democratic forum for the Irish speaking community’.

There are over 200 branches, with countless volunteering members, and, additionally, hundreds of individually registered members. Conradh grounds its guiding principles in democracy, equality, participation and rights.

The annual ard-fheis, convening this weekend in the Europa Hotel, Béal Feirste, affords branches and members of Conradh na Gaeilge to bring forward motions supporting the core language-based campaigns most associated with the organisation, as it has from early days when Dubhghlas de Híde, Pádraig Mac Piarais and others came together to build the foundations of a movement that would stand the test of time, whilst identifying new challenges and opportunities. In recent years, the ard-fheis strongly supported motions of international solidarity, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine, following the establishment of a branch in the Lajee Centre of the West Bank, and a similar motion introducing a new Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions policy.

The Irish language does not, has not, and cannot exist in splendid isolation from broader society in which it resides. To ensure the future of our language and our language communities, we must locate our aims and objectives alongside our ongoing national and local community needs, be that in terms of housing, education, and broader societal issues which will inevitably impact the trajectory of our indigenous language revival movement.

In 2018, as the debate around the constitutional future of Ireland gathered momentum, the ard-fheis unanimously agreed a motion to kickstart a new national conversation on the role of the Irish language in a new Ireland, mandating a series of debates, discussions and assemblies concerning language rights and constitutional change.

Since then, Conradh na Gaeilge has convened conferences relating to the role of the language and the Constitution in a new Ireland, and how a United Ireland could impact Irish medium education, the Gaeltacht and Irish language policies, strategies and legislation north and south.

Rights based approach

Unfortunately, over recent years, others have attempted to already place the language on the negotiating table, offering to dilute and dismiss national language protections in a cynical attempt to entice others into the conversation.

We must be unequivocal in our own position. Conradh na Gaeilge will always advocate a rights-based approach to language protections. We believe, when we look, for example, at our Celtic cousins in Wales, that language legislation and language promotion, if based on best-practice, can lead us into a new-era of language use across this island, north, south and in the Gaeltacht.

A new Ireland, with a new constitutional framework, therefore could be an opportunity to ‘level-up’, to identify the high-water mark north, south, or elsewhere, and ensure that equality for the Irish-speaking and Gaeltacht communities is a fundamental, non-negotiable principle of a new all-Ireland approach, in line with the Good Friday Agreement.

This ard-fheis will provide branches and members of Conradh na Gaeilge an opportunity to review, and potentially revise, our own constitution on the organisation’s stance on a united Ireland and how that could benefit the Irish language and the Gaeltacht for the generations ahead.

This week’s ard-fheis in Béal Feirste is more than a gathering, it is an opportunity for the Irish language community to decide whether to set a course on the constitutional future of Ireland and ensure our language and the Gaeltacht are not afterthoughts, but a driving force, front and centre of societal, constitutional and cultural aspirations.

Charges dropped against man accused over Caldwell attack

TANYA FOWLES, Irish News, February 18th, 2026

CHARGES have been dropped against one of a number of men facing charges linked to the attempted murder of former Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell.

The now-retired senior officer was shot whilst coaching a youth football team at a sports complex in Omagh, Co Tyrone on 22 February 2023.

In the aftermath the New IRA claimed responsibility for the attack.

Alan McFarland (50) of Deverney Park, Omagh was one of eight men charged with attempted murder while a further nine men face various charges ranging from preparing for acts of terrorism and perverting the course of justice.

However a prosecuting lawyer told the court on Tuesday: “Senior counsel’s opinion has been considered and I am instructed to withdraw the charges.”

The defence responded, saying: “Whilst welcome news, this defendant spent 16 months on remand. When granted bail the PPS appealed to ensure he remained in custody and was held for a further five months. When eventually released, it was under extremely strenuous conditions.”

55 court appearances

He added: “I am sure he is delighted as he has been removed from his family and community. Today was his 55th court appearance and it’s frankly astonishing the case is only now withdrawn at this late stage.” District Judge Conor Heaney ordered the charges to be withdrawn and lifted all bail terms.

DCI John Caldwell was shot at a sports complex in Omagh, Co Tyrone in February 2023

The case has drawn heavy criticism from defence teams over significant delays and until November last year 16 men were charged in connection with the incident of which seven are accused of attempted murder, and the rest face various related allegations.

The addition of another man appeared to further delay matters and last month defence barrister, Eoghan Devlin KC pointed out that the High Court has noted that others being added to an investigation should not cause delays.

He suggested the cases which are ready should be released to the defendants’ defence teams to begin their defence work, but the PPS has refused insisting all cases must proceed together.

Judge Heaney asked the PPS to consider this and provide a rationale as to why this could not be done.

On return today the prosecution said: “The cases cannot be divided and all papers should be issued at the same time. It may sound like we are coming with the same update, review after review, but there is progress. It’s a very large file and we are making every effort.”

But Mr Devlin stated: “This is completely unacceptable. The case is no further on. The PPS are dancing on the head of a pin. There is still no estimation of a time frame, there won’t be when we return in four weeks. We are simply asking for the cases which are ready and sitting on a PPS desk to be given to us, yet a decision was made in the case of Alan McFarland.

“No one doubts this case is complex, but we do resent that for years the PPS have been contending the papers are just around the corner. Now when that game is up, they do a complete volte face. It beggars belief.”

Judge Heaney added: “I’m struggling to reconcile how a decision to withdraw charges against one defendant against what I’m being told. This court will closely supervise this and expect the PPS to answer why it cannot proceed by releasing some of the cases.

“The court is cognisant of the extent of the case and the rights of defendants, but it is also cognisant of the expectations of complainants and witnesses. Time marches on for all these people.”

Adjourning until 10 March Judge Heaney warned: “I expect a substantial update, over-and-above being told specific details of files being on the Directing Officer’s desk.”

What would make a majority vote NI out of existence?

MICHAEL McDOWELL, Irish Times, February 18th, 2026

The creation of an independent Irish State in 1922 has turned out to be a good thing for the great majority of Irish people. While you may read about Irexit (and a small minority believes in it), no group of any significance now believes or argues that Ireland should rejoin the UK.

And while Irish nationalists won their demand for an independent Irish Free State in 1922, there was no chance that Britain’s then government, a coalition of unionists and David Lloyd George liberals, was going to impose a settlement which drove northern unionists out of the UK against their will. Nor were the Irish negotiators in any position to secure such an outcome.

Indeed, it always seems strange that the anti-treaty side believed the only acceptable and achievable outcome to their struggle for independence at the time was an Ireland entirely outside the Commonwealth but incorporating the six counties.

Quite apart from the British army presence in Ireland in 1922, the UK government had deliberately armed more than 20,000 unionist police, including special constables – as is made clear by Michael Farrell in his book Arming the Protestants: the formation of the Ulster Special Constabulary and the Royal Ulster Constabulary, 1920-27. This was at a time when the IRA had perhaps 4,000 weapons at its disposal. Northern Ireland had been established as a self-governing part of the UK in 1921, under the Government of Ireland Act enacted in December 1920, and was not to be abolished or dismantled by nationalist or republican coercion.

Airy dismissal

What did happen is that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ceased to be in 1922. The mother-country of the largest empire on earth no longer existed as a unitary state. That is what Michael Collins and his War of Independence achieved.

Together with the IRB, he saw that accomplishment as the most that could be achieved at that time. An independent Ireland with the same status as Canada within the British Empire was, in their judgment, the best foundation for the ultimate creation of a wholly independent Irish republic, as happened in 1948 – freedom to achieve freedom.

One thing that fascinates me is airy dismissal of any likely outcome to the failure of the treaty negotiations. Whether or not Lloyd George’s Downing Street threat of immediate and terrible war was rhetorical bluff, very few Irish historical analysts have examined or described what might well have happened if the treaty talks failed.

By October 1922, the conservative and unionist majority in his coalition had effectively dumped Lloyd George, whose position had become increasingly vulnerable in 1921 and ‘22. If the treaty had not been agreed by then, would the Tories, in government on their own, have delivered its substance? Or might they have been tempted to impose a much more unionist outcome, modelled on the Government of Ireland Act 1921 which preserved the UK with subordinate home rule parliaments, north and south? Could they have done so on the pretext of avoiding a green-orange civil war in Ireland?

Improbable destinations

One difficulty we face now in examining these issues is that Griffith and Collins had to sell the treaty in early 1922, while keeping confidential their own analysis of the political fragility of the Lloyd George coalition. Were they aware, for instance, of 1921 machinations by Churchill and Birkenhead to depose Lloyd George, as recorded in the diary of Frances Stevenson, the premier’s confidential secretary, with whom he had an affair?

Did they sense the potential of an early departure of Lloyd George and a resumption of Tory rule in London? Could they have picked up the very real possibilities and risks of failure of the treaty talks from side-talk interactions with the British side in late 1921? Could they credibly explain these confidential matters to the Dáil or to the Irish people, while Lloyd George was still clinging to office? The deaths of Collins and Griffith closed off any such possibility.

Much current discourse of the treaty dispute and its outcome blithely assumes that an independent Irish State in the form of dominion status and the end of the old UK were, so to speak, “in the bag” politically. Accordingly, further advances such as De Valera’s idea of external association were worth risking a breakdown within the Lloyd George coalition.

There is a very different scenario in which the ultimate independent Irish State was no foregone conclusion. That scenario might include failure of the talks, blaming the Irish for intransigence, the deposition of Lloyd George as prime minister, the earlier end of his coalition, a hawkish Tory administration playing the avoidance of green-orange disorder card, and the imposition of the Government of Ireland Act 1921, backed by martial law.

From a start point in 1911, an independent Irish State by 1921 seemed improbable. Courage and statesmanship brought it about. The same now applies to a united Ireland. Exactly what package would persuade a northern majority to vote Northern Ireland out of existence? Confederation or Sinn Féin’s unitary socialist republic?

Assembly backs Beattie motion to address sexual abuse during Troubles

Gabrielle Swan, News Reporter, Belfast Telegraph, February 17th, 2026

The Assembly has backed a motion which may see the “insidious crime of sexual abuse” be given its own category in Troubles investigations.

Supporting the motion, Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said “it is absolutely right the issue of sexual abuse is explicitly included” to ensure justice for victims.

The motion was brought forward by the UUP justice spokesperson, Doug Beattie. The Upper Bann MLA told the Assembly that rape and sexual assault have been “used as a weapon of war for as long war has existed”.

Last year the UK and Irish Governments announced a new framework to deal with the legacy of the Troubles.

Labour is currently progressing its Troubles Bill at Westminster, which will replace the controversial Legacy Act introduced by the previous Conservative government.

Recently, MPs backed a remedial order which removed the measures in the previous Act providing conditional immunity from prosecutions for Troubles-era crimes, as well as scrapping a bar on future legacy compensation cases.

The immunity provision had been found to be unlawful in the courts.

The previous Act was “rejected by every party in Northern Ireland and the overwhelming majority of the victims and survivors groups,” said the SDLP’s Sinéad McLaughlin.

The British Irish framework will restore some Troubles related inquests stopped by the Act, establish a dedicated unit in the Garda Síochána to aid the Legacy Commission and a €25 million (£21.8m) contribution to aid affected families.

Expressing concern for victims who were left “in fear from terrorist groups” from reporting their abuse, Mr Beattie said the “unique attributes of the Legacy Commission may well give those victims hope”.

Mr Beattie is proposing that the Government include crimes of a sexual nature as a bespoke criterion for a Troubles investigation under the Legacy Commission Bill.

“I must be clear from the very start, any person who has experienced sexual violence, be that in the past or be that in the present, Troubles related or not Troubles related, should use our justice system now,” said the Upper Bann MLA.

“I would urge then to all go to the police. However, what this motion is trying to address is sexual violence and child abuse that still echoes in our troubled past.

“The persistent fear from terrorist groups, both republican and loyalist, exists many years after the Belfast Agreement in some communities.

“Unspoken, controlling, isolating, leaving victims afraid to come forward, lest they be seen as a traitor to their community.

“It is in this instance that the unique attributes of the Legacy Commission may well give those victims hope.”

The former UUP leader described sexual violence during conflict as “a weapon that does not discriminate between religions or theology, but preys on the vulnerable”.

“When we talk about the Troubles, the images which normally flash through our minds are stark. Soldiers in street corners, the plume of smoke after a bomb. The crack of gunfire.

“Sexual violence has also been used as a weapon of war for as long as war existed. It is certainly no different in Northern Ireland.”

Little-Pengelly supports the motion

Supporting the motion, Mrs Little-Pengelly told the Assembly it is “absolutely right the important issue of sexual abuse is explicitly included”.

“They did not go [to report it] out of fear of what would happen if they did, by members of the community and terrorist organisations.

“It has been kept in the shadows for much too long. There are particular issues that do indeed need to be examined and I welcome the fact a number of speakers have touched on it,” she said.

“The abusive practices that created the environment wherein women, children and those who were abused, where they couldn’t go to the police or the authorities to get justice [should be examined].

“They did not go [to report it] out of fear of what would happen if they did, by members of the community and terrorist organisations.

“Many victims have been denied justice. I welcome the fact that Doug Beattie said at the start, very clear, that victims of sexual abuse should come forward to the PSNI.”

Mrs Little-Pengelly said sexual abuse, especially during conflict is “one of the worst violations of human dignity”.

“It causes deep traumatisation. People from all backgrounds, ages, classes and ethnicity are impacted by sexual crime,” she said.

“It happens across all cultures and we want to stamp it out and we need to support victims.

“We know that it cuts across all generations and spheres in our society. We owe them [victims] a debt of gratitude for the resilience they have shown,” added the Deputy First Minister.

AND Unionists vote down proposal to penalise flag burning on bonfires

By Michael Kenwood, Belfast News Letter, February 18th, 2026

Unionist councillors have voted down a proposal to penalise flag burning on bonfires approved by Ards and North Down Council.

​A notice of notion submitted by Alliance Councillor Rachel Ashe stated: “The council notes the success of the inclusion of effigies and emblems to the penalties for “in-programme” bonfires (and) tasks officers to engage with groups to add flags to the list of penalties for in-programme bonfires.”

On a vote, eight elected members from the DUP, UUP, and two Independent Unionists voted against the proposal, four supported it from Alliance, and there were two abstentions, one from the Greens.

Councillor Ashe said at the committee meeting: “I want to commend officers for the excellent work they have done on the in-programme bonfires, regarding the inclusion of effigies and emblems, and the environmental side as well. It is well-adhered to, which is no mean feat and officers deserve full credit.”

She said: “In emails back and forth between myself and officers they stated they would be engaging with groups in the coming weeks and months to establish if they could include the possibility of including flags to penalties for in-programme bonfires.

“This motion seeks to establish a timeline for the update and to show officers have the support of members in these meetings.

She added: “There is a bit of a sensitive irony around flags on the bonfires. We celebrate, and are happy to post on social media when our residents win Olympic gold medals, or championship medals won by athletes under a flag. But then we don’t stop that flag being burnt on bonfires.

“We are asking our residents and businesses to pay rates, but when that money is used to fund in-programme bonfires, we don’t offer rebates to people who may be offended by the burning of flags on bonfires.”

Flag burning ‘hate incidents’

She said many residents in the borough see flag burning as “abhorrent and justifiably a hate incident.”

DUP Councillor Libby Douglas said: “We recognise the huge step forward in relation to management of bonfires in the borough. This follows on from an approach adopted by the Good Relations Officer Jim Murdoch, who worked wonders in the Ards Borough in terms of reducing the amount of paramilitary flags and murals, and of course introducing and implementing our bonfires programme.

“The great success of the bonfire programme was due to the lack of political involvement. We delegated the process and progress to our officers. We were rewarded with tidier sites, more environmentally friendly bonfires, more willow burners and significantly fewer paramilitary flags and murals around the borough.”

She said: “Our officers worked with community groups and bonfire builders to achieve this, an approach praised unanimously by all parties in the old Ards Borough Council.

“We compare this with the approach taken by the old North Down Council, where there was political involvement, and approach by officers that was seen as dictating what should or should not be done. It was an absolute disaster.

“Unfortunately this motion is repeating the mistakes of the old North Down Council, and risks those same consequences. The motion itself is utterly unnecessary, other than to serve as some election campaign for the Alliance Party.

“We have a process already present, whereby our Good Relations Officers have built up good will and trust among groups, because they are seen to have a large degree of autonomy in this process. Political interference isn’t wanted and risks backfiring.

“We must always remember this is a voluntary arrangement. The groups could just back away, like they did in 2015, and I am grateful to our officers for taking so many back into the programme.”

‘Smacks of political interference’

She added: “We will get there with flags, but this motion is not the way to achieve it, for two reasons. The first is it smacks of political interference, and the second because of who is delivering this message.”

Alliance Alderman Martin McRandal said: “What is the purpose of burning flags on bonfires, it is simply to insult the other side, it is to poke people in the eye. It is not cultural expression, it is simply to insult.

“The irony is Good Relations funding (is supporting it). What good relations are there in burning someone else’s flag? Burning of flags is a red line, it is unacceptable.

“What would the unionist councillors think if someone in Ards and North Down burned a union flag? They would be apoplectic, and quite rightly so.”

UUP Alderman Mark Brooks said: “The groups, if compelled, would be more likely to demonstrate their grievances, and just create an even bigger problem for the borough, so on reflection I probably can’t support the motion. I probably can sympathise with its end goal.”