'We don't need to celebrate our culture by putting someone's effigy on a bonfire...'
Belfast Telegraph, July 7th, 2025
REV MERVYN GIBSON SPEAKS TO AMY COCHRANE ABOUT THE 'CHANGING FACE' OF THE ORANGE ORDER, GOOD RELATIONS WITH THE REPUBLIC, 'GENERATIONAL ISSUES' WITH PARAMILITARISM AND WHY THE FIRST MINISTER WILL NOT BE INVITED TO TWELFTH CELEBRATIONS
With more than six decades of Twelfth celebrations under his collarette, the Grand Secretary of the Orange Order has seen great change in society, yet he believes 'Orangeism' in Northern Ireland “is only growing stronger”.
Rev Mervyn Gibson will be in Keady — the biggest July 12 parade — this year to mark the 335th anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne.
“There's a buzz about the unionist community and in particular the Orange family with the arches going up in towns and villages right across Northern Ireland,” he said.
“There's been sort of a rediscovery of our culture and identity as of late and people are out celebrating it.”
Rev Gibson's earliest memory of the Twelfth dates back to when he was just four years old watching his parents — who were both members of the Orange Order — marching in an Ulster Covenant parade.
“A few years later I was in the parade carrying the strings of the banner,” he said.
“I was brought up in an Orange household; my mother and my father were in the Orange, my granny was in the Orange, my two grandads were in it.
“We had jumble sales and supper dances to raise money, it wasn't just about the parading, it was a way of life for me.”
The 67-year-old started out in the Junior Lodge and has been a member of a few lodges during his adult life — some of which folded due to dwindling numbers. Currently he is a member of the Thomas Andrews Jr Memorial LOL 1321 in east Belfast.
“I've always been an east Belfast Orangeman,” he said.
Free fall has stopped
“And it's important to keep things fresh for the younger generation coming in, I think. Like most fraternal organisations we were in freefall for several years, but we've stopped that, and the Orange Institution is not only holding its own, it's beginning to show signs of growth and becoming stronger.
“The junior movement has taken off over these past two or three years and we are maybe seeing about seven or eight junior lodges opening up every year around the country and that's investment for the future.
“As long as we keep our principles the same and know what our principles are, we need to stay relevant because society is always changing.
“Men my age need to make way for the younger ones to come through and be able to share their ideas and their friendships and culture; it's not just about people like me holding on to the past because I like how things were done 20 or 30 years ago.
“Just because I have nostalgic memories of things back then doesn't mean it suits today's Orangemen.”
Rev Gibson said that it's also about lodges becoming integrated within the wider community. “There are lodges who do many things other than march; some raise money for charity, some concentrate on the social side of things, others maybe focus on the history and the culture — especially at this time of year with the Somme — and some are political,” he said.
“Each lodge maybe does a bit of each of these things, but others concentrate on some more than others, so you can almost shop around to see what lodge suits yourself.”
He pointed out that he has seen a rise in people returning to the Orange Order.
“I've seen people who maybe left years ago coming back and re-joining for various reasons,” he said.
“I put it down to the Covid-19 pandemic in many ways, we saw growth during that time.
“Many members were out distributing food parcels and raising money for initiatives, rediscovering our civic duty in a way, and that has continued.
Impact of Troubles
“The 1950s and 1960s were the heydays of the Orange Order but then we hit the Troubles and many of our members joined the security forces so, for 30 years, we were in defensive mode because our members were being attacked.
“We lost 334 men and one woman during the Troubles; that's one in 10 of every person murdered during the Troubles was a member of the Orange Institution.”
One of the more controversial elements in recent years has been the rise of Eleventh Night bonfires — in every sense.
Communities compete to build the biggest pyre, but safety concerns — and items placed on bonfires — have drawn criticism.
Asked if he thinks the culture around Eleventh Night bonfires has changed in recent years, Rev Gibson feels they have “progressed immensely.”
“The Orange don't actually organise bonfires, but we don't deny that part of our culture and many Orangemen are involved in that culture,” he said.
“It saddens me when there are negative stories about unsafe bonfires, very rarely you will see bonfires with tyres on them, so things have changed, and you'll see more people out at bonfires now with many festivals and family events on at the same time.”
He does, however, condemn bonfires with posters, effigies and flags displayed.
“There's no need for hate,” he said.
“We don't need to celebrate our culture by putting someone's effigy on a bonfire.”
Born and bred in east Belfast to a father with roots in Donegal, he said that keeping good relations with the Republic is essential.
“The tricolour flag for me stands for a foreign country that I want good relations with and I want to work with the south,” he said.
“People see it as the enemy flag, and I would condemn that equally.”
The senior Orangeman was a supporter of the 'Donaldson deal' made by the former leader of the DUP that paved the way for Stormont to return.
He said at the time that devolution was “preferable to direct rule”, and the agreement was “the best way forward to protect the Union”.
He also added that it “knocked” the likelihood of Irish unity “out of sight”.
Rev Gibson stands by those remarks and says the decision to return to Stormont was the “right thing to do”. The Executive is now led by Michelle O'Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly.
Both have made moves at outreach — Ms Little-Pengelly has tried camogie while Ms O'Neill attended a Northern Ireland football match and a Remembrance Sunday event.
First Minister ‘would not be welcome’
Asked if an invitation to the Twelfth would be on the cards for the First Minister, Rev Gibson said she “would not be welcome”.
He added, however, that he is a democrat and “respects” the fact that Ms O'Neill is First Minister of Northern Ireland, before referencing her controversial interview with the BBC in 2022 when the Sinn Fein chief, whose father was an IRA prisoner, put forward the argument that there had been 'no alternative' to IRA violence.
“I don't think any Irish person ever woke up one morning and thought that conflict was a good idea, but the war came to Ireland. I think at the time there was no alternative, but now, thankfully, we have an alternative to conflict and that's the Good Friday Agreement,” she told the Red Lines podcast. She has also attended IRA commemorations since becoming First Minister.
Pointing to the “murder of 335 of our members” by the IRA, Mr Gibson says, “she still thinks there is no alternative to that?
“Michelle O'Neill would not be welcome at a Twelfth parade for that particular reason, and it's as simple as that.
“For someone (who says there was no alternative) in the way the IRA murdered — and I think terrorism is wrong, full stop — they glory in it still, but that is a generational issue,” he said.
Similarly, Rev Gibson feels that the ongoing issue of paramilitarism in Northern Ireland is also a “generational issue” and feels there is “no need” for paramilitary organisations in “this day and age”.
“I talk to all aspects of the community all the time,” he said.
“I would like to see a country where there's no paramilitaries, however I'm a realist so I know why they're here, but I think some paramilitary groups have morphed into criminality and I think the police need to be ruthless and deal with it.
“I think those who want to change should be encouraged to change but I think many who want to already have done and want to move forward.
“It's generational change, it won't be overnight, and it'll take time, but I don't see the need for paramilitary organisations in this day and age.”
He added that he “doesn't buy into” the idea of a united Ireland any time in the future.
“I don't want a place in a united Ireland,” he said.
“I don't intend to enter into a united Ireland and nor do the vast majority of unionists, what we need to be doing more is to be promoting the United Kingdom and appealing to those who are maybe 50/50 and aren't sure.
“We need to assure them that economically the United Kingdom is secure, security-wise and health-wise as well.
“These stories that come out about a United Ireland are just background noise, I'd rather concentrate on building Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom.
“But my place in the United Kingdom doesn't depend on a politician, it depends on where I was born and my birthright and my family; that is what makes me a unionist and a British citizen.”
Tesco orders major bonfire investigation at Scottish pallet depot
Connla Young, Irish News, July 7th, 2025
RETAIL giant Tesco has ordered an investigation after claims that pallets are being shipped from one of its Scottish distribution centres to a notorious loyalist bonfire in Co Antrim.
It is understood the retail chain asked for the probe amid claims that some of the pallets used on the massive bonfire at Craigyhill in Larne have been sourced from a pallet depot located at a Tesco distribution centre in Livingston.
It is believed the pallet depot is linked to international supplier Chep.
In recent weeks, thousands of pallets have been stacked on the Craigyhill pyre by bonfire builders using a telehandler in advance of Friday’s Eleventh Night celebrations.
A crane was also moved onto the site last week.
Thousands of pallets have been delivered to the bonfire site by a range of vehicles, including a large curtain sided trailer.
The Irish News is aware of several local firms that have delivered pallets, and other waste wood, at Craigyhill bonfire in recent years.
Last year, the Larne pyre stretched to more than 200ft as organisers tried to set a world record, which is currently held by an Austrian bonfire.
Each year thousands of pallets are illegally dumped and burned as part of loyalist Eleventh Night bonfire celebrations across the north.
The majority of the distinctive blue pallets often seen on many of the pyres belong to Chep, while French pallet company, La Palette Rouge (LPR), are responsible for many of those coloured red.
Other pallets, known as ‘whites’, tend to be produced independently and are generally not of the same quality as ‘blues’ or ‘reds’.
Over 3,500 pallets
It was estimated last year that of the 8,596 pallets believed to be on the Craigyhill bonfire, around 3,470 were owned by Chep.
Industry insiders estimate the total value of the material placed on the Craigyhill pyre was more than £130,000.
It is understood while Tesco believes there is no evidence to suggest pallets at Craigyhill originated from its distribution centre, the retailer has contacted its supplier in recent days asking for a full investigation.
Craigyhill bonfire in Larne was estimated to have been constructed last year with over £130,000 worth of material
Tesco contacts supplier to ask for a full investigation after pallet shipping claims.
It is believed that while thousands of pallets pass through the distribution centre, they are not owned by the retailer.
It is understood Chep has a policy to never donate or sell to the public and there can be no unauthorised movements of pallets for use in bonfires.
It is believed Chep works closely with the PSNI and other local authorities to recover its property.
Judge criticises Westminster over Troubles-related compensation plan
Noel McAdam, Belfast Telegraph, July 7th, 2025
NEW APPEAL MADE TO REDSIGN SCHEME TO NOT EXCLUDE ANY SECTION OF PEOPLE
A senior judge has hit out at Westminster over its compensation scheme for victims of the Troubles, which he said had failed to please anybody, after local politicians couldn't agree on what a victim is.
Mr Justice McAlinden also issued a new appeal to the Assembly and Executive to grasp the nettle of designing a new scheme which will not exclude sections of people.
The president of the Victims' Payments Board admitted that as a serving judge, he should not be making public comments on an issue involving legislation.
But he told the Assembly Committee, which monitors the Executive Office: “There are clear deficiencies in the scheme. It was imposed quickly by Westminster.
“I invite the Assembly and Executive to take possession of it again and to create a scheme that is more rounded and more targeted towards dealing with the needs of our society.
“As a serving judge, I am not supposed to comment on legislative matters, but, as president of the Victims' Payments Board, I feel happy about doing so.”
However, in response, The Executive Office said it had no intention of changing the existing scheme, which victims' groups like Relatives for Justice have said excludes many of those bereaved in the Troubles — victims of plastic and rubber bullets, of sexual violence and of so-called punishment attacks.
The Executive Office also argued that more than £97m has been paid out since the scheme — due to finish next year — began and it was “mindful” of victims' and survivors' needs.
Victimhood a divisive issue
The senior judiciary member argued, however: “We have a fundamental issue here: victimhood is a divisive issue in our society. It is so divisive that the local elected representatives — the Executive — were unable to agree a scheme that facilitated all views on victimhood.
“Therefore, we had Westminster take up the baton and, in essence, impose a scheme that, I think, no one is very happy with.
“First of all, the issue of the bereaved is massively painful for many. The definition of a Troubles-related incident is: “an act of violence or force carried out… for a reason related to the constitutional status of Northern Ireland or to political or sectarian hostility.”
Mr Justice McAlinden said there are difficulties fitting in cases of sexual violence.
“You have to differentiate between the thuggish activities of paramilitaries and an act of violence for political ends. The two are not equated.
“Just because a paramilitary did something does not mean that it was a Troubles-related incident. I know that that is a matter of dispute and that it will be part of the argument in the judicial review on punishment beatings etc.
“However, we have a limited and narrow definition of a Troubles-related incident and of victimhood, and we have the exclusion of the bereaved.
“Locally, the Executive and Assembly could deal with those issues, if they could agree. If they could bring their heads together, they could reconstruct the scheme to make sure that everyone who was injured was included.”
A statement from the Executive Office said: “We remain committed to delivering the Scheme and are mindful of the needs of victims and survivors.
“As of the week commencing June 23 this year, over £97m has been paid out in awards to eligible applicants since the Scheme opened.
“While we work closely with the Victims' Payments Board to engage with victims' groups, keep scheme processes under review and look for ways of improving the throughput of cases, there is no intention to make any substantive changes to the scheme as we move towards the final year for the submission of applications.”
Son of Chinook crash victim calls for answers
Lucinda Cameron, Irish News and Belfast Telegraph, July 7th, 2025
THE son of a victim of the 1994 Chinook helicopter crash is calling on the prime minister to intervene and allow a public inquiry after visiting the site of the disaster.
RAF Chinook ZD576 was carrying 25 British intelligence personnel from RAF Aldergrove to a conference at Fort George near Inverness when it crashed in foggy weather on June 2 1994 on the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland.
All 25 passengers – made up of personnel from MI5, the RUC and the British army – were killed, along with the helicopter’s four crew members.
Joel Hornby, whose father Major Anthony Hornby was one of the victims, visited a memorial cairn at the crash site on Saturday and again yesterday.
He and other families have said they will press on with seeking a judicial review after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) dismissed their demands for a judge-led public inquiry into the incident, and have written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer asking him to intervene.
Mr Hornby, who was seven when his father died, visited the site with his one-year-old son and laid a wreath at the cairn along with a note which read “Dad, we are still fighting for you”.
Speaking afterwards Mr Hornby, who lives in Berlin, said: “We, the families of those lost, have still been denied answers over 30 years on.
“The MoD has rejected our request for a full judge-led public inquiry, and furthermore, has sealed documents relating to the crash for 100 years.
“We are requesting that the prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, live up to his promises on duty of candour and overrule the MoD’s decision.”
Petition
He has also urged people to sign a change.org petition calling on the prime minister to overturn the MoD decision and release the documents.
Following the crash, the Chinook’s pilots, Flight Lieutenants Richard Cook and Jonathan Tapper, were accused of gross negligence, but this verdict was overturned by the UK government 17 years later following a campaign by the families.
A subsequent review by Lord Philip set out “numerous concerns” raised by those who worked on the Chinooks, with the MoD’s testing centre at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire declaring the Chinook Mk2 helicopters “unairworthy” prior to the crash.
In a statement after the calls made by the families on Friday, an MoD spokesperson said: “The Mull of Kintyre crash was a tragic accident, and our thoughts and sympathies remain with the families, friends and colleagues of all those who died.
“We understand that the lack of certainty about the cause of the crash has added to the distress of the families.
“We provided a detailed and considered response to the pre-action protocol letter stating the reasons why we cannot accept the demand for establishing a new public inquiry.
“It’s unlikely that a public inquiry would identify any new evidence or reach new conclusions on the basis of existing evidence.
“The accident has already been the subject of six inquiries and investigations, including an independent judge-led review.”
The MoD did not wish to make further comment yesterday.
Orangemen prevented from marching along Garvaghy Road 30 years after original dispute
Allan Preston, Irish News, July 7th, 2025
THIRTY years on from the start of the Drumcree parade dispute, the Orange Order was once again prevented from marching along the nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown.
As expected, police enforced the longstanding resolution from the Parades Commission yesterday.
Ahead of the march, Portadown LoL No 1 had posted a renewed appeal for talks with Garvaghy Road residents, the Commission and other stakeholders – claiming it was unfair to consider the matter “a dead duck” and that from their point of view it was “far from settled”.
The parades body determined the restriction remains “necessary, proportionate and fair” and reflects “the potential impact on relations in the immediate vicinity of Portadown and across Northern Ireland”.
A spokesperson for Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition said they welcome the fact that the parade passed off peacefully.
“There is no logical reason why the Orange Order simply refuses to return to Carleton Street by the same route which they used to make their way out to Drumcree,” they said.
“As we have said before, the nationalist community has moved on from the dark days of the 1990s – it’s time the Orange Order did likewise.”
Previously one of the most notorious flashpoints in the annual marching season calendar, the dispute first began on July 9 1995 when residents on the Garvaghy Road protested against marchers walking though their area while returning from Drumcree Parish Church.
It would take three years before the Orange Order was formally banned from taking the contentious route.
The tensions eventually led to several deaths. They included two Catholic men – taxi driver Michael McGoldrick (31) was shot dead by renegade members of the UVF outside Lurgan in 1996 and Robert Hamill was attacked by a loyalist mob in May 1997, while RUC officers in a nearby Land Rover at the time were accused of failing to intervene.
A deadly arson attack linked to the Drumcree dispute on July 12 1998, also claimed the lives of Catholic schoolboys Richard (10), Mark (9) and Jason (8) Quinn when their home was petrol-bombed in Ballmoney, Co Antrim.
That year, RUC officer Frank O’Reilly died after a pipe bomb was thrown at police lines by loyalists in Portadown.
Flags next to church 'fomenting division' in Antrim, says MLA
Garrett Hargan, Belfast Telegraph, July 7th, 2025
Sinn Fein MLA Declan Kearney has called for the immediate removal of flags outside a Catholic church and school in Antrim, as he condemned the “blatant contempt for a place of worship”.
Mr Kearney highlighted the same issue in recent years when a variety of flags, including some “associated with the UDA”, Parachute Regiment and local unionist flute bands had “festooned” the same area.
Speaking after flags were erected again in the immediate vicinity of St Comgall's chapel, school and car park at the weekend, the South Antrim MLA said it was another “deliberate attempt at intimidation, and to foment division” in Antrim town.
“I am angered to see the chapel corner in Antrim once again festooned with flags in the run up to the Twelfth. Erecting flags in this location is both an act of sectarian provocation and deliberately insensitive. It is designed to undermine community relations in the town,” he said.
“It is absolutely intolerable that St Comgall's Chapel Corner continues to be targeted in this way. No place of worship anywhere should be subjected to such disrespect or sectarian intimidation.
Intimidation
“This has always been an integrated residential area of the town. It is recognised as a shared community space. Those responsible for erecting these flags should be ashamed of themselves. The campaign of intimidation needs to end.”
Meanwhile, a DUP MP has hit out after bunting was stolen from a display erected to mark the Twelfth in Portadown.
The decorations were on an Orange arch in the Water Street area of the town.
On Thursday, the bunting was “removed and stolen”, the DUP's Carla Lockhart said.
Police said they are treating the incident as a sectarian hate crime.
In a post on social media, Ms Lockhart said: “This targeted act of vandalism, clearly sectarian in nature, was carried out with the intent to provoke and divide.
“The Parkmount Arch committee and local residents invested their own time, energy, and money to prepare for the 12th celebrations. Their efforts reflect pride in tradition and a desire to celebrate culture respectfully.”
A PSNI spokesperson said: “Police received a report of a theft in the Water Street area.
“It was reported at around 10pm on Thursday 3rd July that bunting had been torn down and taken.
“Officers are treating this report as a sectarian hate crime and appeal to anyone with information, to contact police on 101.”
UVF has overplayed hand and should complete disbandment
Irish News, July 7th, 2025
PRO FIDE, et PATRIA
IT HAS been clear for some time that the UVF would attempt to extract a price from the British government before issuing its long overdue statement confirming a final disbandment.
However, even the most cynical observers will have been surprised by suggestions that the illegal loyalist group wants to be given the right to organise what it calls a “close protection team” for its most prominent members.
The respected academic Dr Aaron Edwards, as this newspaper reported at the weekend, has said the UVF is proposing that it should retain what it ludicrously describes as a ‘Praetorian Guard’ as part of a departure deal.
“ The idea that UVF figures should be able to demand even more funding for their own projects before signing off on a disbandment strategy is unsustainable at every level
There are suggestions that some 30/40 people in each of what the group regards as its six ‘brigade areas’ would be covered by the arrangement, meaning that it envisages maintaining an armed militia which would be up to 250 strong.
It is essential that the authorities make clear from the start that the entire idea is a non-starter, and it will not be considered in any shape or form by those involved in negotiations with the UVF.
All the main paramilitary organisations know that their day has gone, with the IRA leaving the stage many years ago, and the tiny remaining republican splinter groups increasingly moving in the same direction.
The UVF and UDA have repeatedly signalled similar intentions but have still managed to spin out the process in a way which forced the former chair of the Independent Monitoring Commission, Lord Alderdice, to conclude last month that it had lost all credibility.
It is not unreasonable that official grants could be allocated to community associations in both nationalist and loyalist districts which may have links to former paramilitary figures but can demonstrate a commitment to campaigning on behalf of ordinary citizens while acting within the law at all times.
However, the idea that UVF figures should be able to demand even more funding for their own projects before signing off on a disbandment strategy is unsustainable at every level.
There has been no proper explanation for the circumstances in which Winston Irvine, who worked as an interlocutor with the Loyalist Communities Council, in official discussions with loyalist groups, was convicted on firearms charges earlier this year.
Irvine, who received a remarkably light jail sentence which is now under review, was reportedly later expelled from the UVF, but the episode should be the final straw in an engagement which is already well past its sell by date.
The UVF has overplayed a weak hand and should either complete its disbandment or face the immediate prospect of its aging leaders joining Irvine in prison.
Foster will once again present GB News coverage of Twelfth
Garrett Hargan, Belfast Telegraph, July 7th, 2025
Former DUP leader Arlene Foster has confirmed that she will be anchoring GB News' coverage of the Twelfth in Northern Ireland this weekend.
The broadcaster is focusing on the Coleraine demonstration this year.
Mrs Foster has been a regular part of GB News' Twelfth coverage.
The channel stepped in three years ago after the BBC stopped its live coverage.
Last year former Coronation Street actor Charlie Lawson teamed up with Mrs Foster for coverage from Carrickfergus.
Commentators also included Trinity College Dublin historian Dr Gavin Hughes, along with GB presenter Dougie Beattie.
Posting on X, Ms Foster said: “One week to go until the big day.
“This year @GBNEWS will be bringing you The Twelfth live from Coleraine with all the usual gang. See you then.”
The former DUP leader moved into broadcasting after resigning her Assembly seat in October 2021, becoming a presenter on GB News.
She was given her own programme — The Briefing with Arlene Foster — which was broadcast on Fridays and regularly appeared on the channel's Sunday political magazine show The Political Correction.
Last month, the former Stormont First Minister made her Sky News debut on Press Review.
The programme previews the following day's newspapers every evening ahead of their publication the following morning.
Bands and marchers will take to the streets at 18 locations across all six of Northern Ireland's counties to mark the 335th anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne.
This year, Dundonald will host a Twelfth demonstration for the first time in more than 50 years.
It will join 18 other venues across Northern Ireland, including Belfast, Ballymena, Kesh, Coleraine, Keady, Coagh, Sixmilecross, Augher, Dromara, Dundrum, Kilkeel, Cullybackey, Rasharkin, Carnlough, Lisburn, Glengormley and Maghera.
The Twelfth demonstrations in Northern Ireland follow the traditional Rossnowlagh parade held in Co Donegal which took place on Saturday.
The BBC will broadcast its Twelfth highlights at 9pm on Saturday.
Its hour-long programme will be presented by Helen Mark, with expert commentary from Dr David Hume and Mervyn Jess.
The BBC controversially stopped its traditional live coverage of the parades in 2022.
Newry Protest calls out ‘sickening racist incidents’
Allan Preston, Irish News, July 2nd, 2025
AN anti-racism protest in Newry saw crowds stand up against “sickening” incidents against minorities in recent months.
With several trade unions among groups backing the protest, the event took place outside Newry Town Hall yesterday afternoon.
A poster for the demonstration stated: “The government is responsible for reckless spending, cuts to housing, childcare, disability. Not refugees.
“Stand up for our healthcare workers and neighbours and against bigotry on the streets of Newry.”
Sinn Féin’s Newry & Armagh MP Dáire Hughes said: “Newry has always been a welcoming place, with strong, diverse communities.
“We have, unfortunately, seen a small number of sickening racist incidents in recent months.
“There is absolutely no place for racism in our communities – it is repulsive and must be unequivocally condemned.
“Today we have had the opportunity to stand in solidarity with those people who have experienced racism in our community, and to send a powerful message that racism, in any form, is totally unacceptable.”
It follows other anti-racism protests held across Northern Ireland in recent weeks after race-fuelled riots erupted in Ballymena and spread elsewhere.”
Irish News, July 7th, 2025
A COUNCIL-owned leisure centre which was targeted in a prolonged arson attack during racist disorder in the north is to undergo a phased reopening.
Larne leisure centre was set on fire after it became known that immigrant families whose homes were attacked during riots in Ballymena last month had been moved there for emergency accommodation.
The reception area of the community facility was destroyed by the blaze which was started at the centre on Wednesday June 11. Facilities including swimming pools and a cafe were closed as a result of the attack.
Mid and East Antrim Council has said parts of the leisure centre have now been able to reopen, but a full reopening is not expected for months.
“Damaged caused to Larne Leisure Centre following the recent unrest, has impacted everyone in the community, especially our young people as the schools break for the Summer,” a council spokesperson said.
“The council is working hard to reopen the centre as quickly as possible. The cafe has reopened to the public, Larne Swim Club continues to utilise the pool for training, and plans are in place to fully reopen the pools for public use in the coming weeks (exact dates to be confirmed).
“In the meantime, arrangements are currently in place to facilitate the planned Children’s Summer Scheme at Larne Grammar School.”
Race rioters face probe into benefits
Conor Coyle, Irish News, July 7th, 2025
DUP communities minister Gordon Lyons has said his department will launch benefits fraud investigations into those found guilty of crimes associated with racist disorder which took place across the north last month.
More than 40 people have been arrested to date in connection with the racist disorder which began in Ballymena and spread to other areas of the north.
A number of those have also been charged with various offences related to the disorder, which saw homes burnt out and an arson attack on Larne Leisure Centre.
‘Anyone fraudulently claiming benefits while engaging in recent violence should be investigated’
More than 40 people have been arrested in connection with the racist disorder which began in Ballymena last month and spread to other areas of the north
Protests began in Ballymena following an attempted rape of a teenage girl in the Clonavon area of the Co Antrim town.
Mr Lyons has previously outlined his department’s “zero tolerance” approach to benefit fraud cases, and has issued multiple press releases in recent months highlighting successful prosecutions for those who have fraudulently claimed benefits.
In a response to an Assembly Written Question from Alliance MLA Kellie Armstrong, Mr Lyons confirmed that his department would launch investigations into those found to have contributed to the riots.
The Strangford MLA asked whether those involved in the disorder “will be investigated by the minister’s benefit fraud team, in order to ensure that any person who has been found guilty of taking part in such disorder has not claimed they have limited capacity for work”.
In his response, Mr Lyons stated: “My department will consider information provided by law enforcement agencies and will initiate benefit fraud investigations on those found guilty of participation in the recent violent disorder across Northern Ireland, where there is credible evidence suggesting that those individuals have been fraudulently claiming benefits.
“If an individual is suspected of benefit fraud, reports can be made in confidence online via nidirect or by contacting the Benefit Fraud Hotline on 0800 975 6050.”
Ms Armstrong welcomed the move from the minister in relation to the “disgraceful” scenes of disorder across the north.
“The recent disorder seen across Northern Ireland was disgraceful and anyone involved should be brought to justice.
“That includes those in employment and those not.
“Anyone fraudulently claiming benefits, particularly any who do so while engaging in recent violence, should be fully investigated.”
Mr Lyons is currently the subject of an investigation by the Stormont assembly’s standards commissioner over a social media post he published during last month’s disorder.
There had been calls for the minister to resign after a social media post in which he identified that a number of immigrants had been moved to Larne Leisure Centre by the Housing Executive at a time when homes were being attacked in Ballymena.
Attack on firefighters attending bonfire site is branded 'unacceptable'
Allison Morris, Belfast Telegraph, July 7th, 2025
Police have condemned an attack on rescue workers at a bonfire site in Belfast, calling it “irresponsible and unacceptable”.
The pyre at East Bridge Street, close to the Albertbridge Road, has been the scene of rioting in the past when Belfast City Council removed wood. This is the first report of any disturbances this year at the bonfire site. The loyalist fires are due to be set alight at midnight on Friday, with police calling for parents to speak to their children about what they said was reckless behaviour.
The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service confirmed the attack and said while it was reported to police, no one was injured.
Police say they received a report of anti-social behaviour in the East Bridge Street area of south Belfast on Saturday, July 5 just before 10pm. Sergeant Dennison said: “Officers attended and spoke with Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service who had initially been called to the location to deal with a bonfire that had been lit.
“They reported on arrival that they had been hit with stones by a group of youths while trying to deal with the fire. On police arrival officers also faced the same. I need to emphasise how completely irresponsible and unacceptable this is, the emergency services are there to keep people safe and should not be faced with this type of behaviour.
“I also urge parents and guardians to speak with their children about their behaviour. Some young people are behaving recklessly, dangerously and in some instances criminally with little regard for other members of the public and local residents. We all have a responsibility to help make where we live safer for everyone. Ring us on 101, or 999 in an emergency, report online at www.psni.police.uk/makeareport
“A report can also be made using the online reporting form via www.psni.police.uk/makeareport. Alternatively, information can be provided to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.”
Society ‘grasping at straws’ trying to break link between smartphones and youth extremism
Margaret Davis, Irish News, July 7th, 2025
SOCIETY is “grasping at straws” in how to deal with more young people being drawn into extremism due to the availability of smartphones, the terror laws watchdog has said.
In an interview as the 20th anniversary of the July 7 attacks is marked, Jonathan Hall KC said methods used by extremists to influence potential recruits are “a million miles” from the tactics used in the run up to 2005.
Suicide bombers Mohammed Sidique Khan (30), Shehzad Tanweer (22), Hasib Hussain (18), and Jermaine Lindsay (19), set off bombs on three Tube trains and a bus, killing 52 people in the single worst terrorist atrocity on British soil.
Ringleader and recruiter Khan appeared to be a pillar of the community, steering local youths away from crime and drugs by organising outdoor activities and helping to set up a gym in a mosque basement, but was in reality a fanatic.
Mr Hall told the PA news agency the wide availability of smartphones has transformed radicalisation since then.
“The principal distinction from the era of 7/7 is the smartphone era,” Mr Hall said.
“That has changed the landscape. It has led to a different model of radicalisation.
“With 7/7 the indications were that Mohammad Sidique Khan was grooming people, there was a youth club, they went and did rafting together.
“Those sorts of outdoorsy, in person, group grooming activities, those feel a million miles away from the online world of radicalisation.
“I’m not aware of any sane person who seeks to argue the current wave of very young people becoming involved in terrorism, or extreme violence where it’s not ideological, that that’s not related to the internet and to the ready availability of smartphones.
“There’s a very live debate about the ethics, the legality and the practicalities of which response is best.
“But we are absolutely grasping at straws and struggling, at the moment, as a society to work out what the correct response is.
No one would let strangers into child’s bedroom
“No-one in their right minds would allow their children to allow a stranger into their bedroom, but that’s what we’ve done with phones.”
The attacks exposed the deadly threat from homegrown terrorists with “appalling clarity”, Mr Hall said.
“What 7/7 did, is it revealed with appalling clarity that our fellow citizens are willing to kill us.
“That very unsettling insight is as true today as it was back then, except you now have to bring in British citizens who have been inspired by extreme right-wing ideology to join the predominant Islamist threat.
“But that was the real kicker from 7/7. I think it really brought home this idea of the homegrown threat.”
Commander Dominic Murphy said July 7 was “a seminal moment” for counter-terrorism policing, leading to a series of changes that continued after the five attacks in Britain in 2017.
He said that while Islamist groups are still the main threat to the UK, right wing terrorism is a growing problem, and there is concern that younger people are being drawn into extremism.
In 2024, 39 of the 248 people arrested for terrorism offences were aged 17 and under, while children aged 11 to 15 made up the largest proportion of those referred to antiextremism scheme Prevent (2,729 out of 6,884).
“Islamist remains our main threat. We do see a growing rightwing terrorist problem,” Mr Murphy said.
“We’re increasingly seeing younger people involved in that right-wing threat as well, which is deeply concerning for us… It’s diversified a lot even since 2017 and I think the online environment and the world environment adds a whole new layer of challenge to the threat that we face.”
The number 30 double-decker bus in Tavistock Square, London, which was destroyed by the July 7 2005 attacks.
‘I’d have been in jail’: Noraid insists its image as an IRA fundraiser was wrong
Mark Hennessy, Ireland and Britain Editor, Irish Times, July 7th, 2025
RTÉ documentary shines light on the activitivies of Irish American body
Ernie O’Malley’s pub on East 27th Street in Manhattan, between Lexington and Third, is where those of Irish birth or lineage gather to watch GAA matches from a place many still call “home”.
Next Wednesday, July 9th, however, the pub will be crowded not to watch GAA, but for a new RTÉ’s documentary, Noraid: Irish America and the IRA, the story of Republican fundraising in the United States during the Troubles.
Now ageing, the group will include Martin Galvin, Noraid’s public face for decades; New York cab driver, newspaper editor and radio presenter John McDonagh; and Fr Pat Moloney, jailed for four years for the 1993 Brink’s-Mat heist, which he still denies.
The documentary, directed by Kevin Brannigan, evocatively captures New York in the 1970s and 1980s, and the controversies surrounding an organisation blamed by the Irish and British governments, and by Washington, for raising money for IRA weapons.
Throughout the two-part documentary, the organisation’s members agree on a few points – the proper title of the organisation was never Noraid but, rather, Irish Northern Aid and it never bought IRA guns.
Few outside the organisation have ever, or will ever, call it Irish Northern Aid, however, while few among two generations of Irish, British and US police and intelligence figures will ever accept its denials about weapons.
Galvin adamantly rejects the allegations, however, pointing out that it was investigated repeatedly by the FBI and others:
“I would have been put in jail, if that was the case,” he tells The Irish Times.
British informer
Equally, British intelligence had its own eyes inside Noraid since Sinn Féin figure, Denis Donaldson, outed nearly two decades later as a British informer, worked with it in New York in the early 1990s.
“[He] had our books open. If we were sending money back, or it was being diverted to IRA, that would have been passed on,” Galvin says, insisting that the money raised went, as it always said it did, to families of those affected by the Troubles.
IRA figures involved in buying US weaponry, such as Gabriel Megahey or John “The Yank” Crawley – who was later jailed for the foiled 1984 arms smuggling attempt on board the Marita Ann trawler – agree. If anything, they were told to stay away from Noraid because it would bring them to attention.
Donaldson, killed later at a cottage in Donegal by people unknown, features frequently in conversation with Galvin: “I complained about him. I could see even then that he was an informer. But I was told he had impeccable credentials.”
Galvin had quickly suspected him: “He told people I was a particular target. Then, he’d disappear for a few days and try to undermine anybody associated with me. Then, he was seen drinking with FBI people.”
The first episode traces how 1920s anti-Treaty IRA men who quit, or fled, Ireland after the Civil War infused New York’s Irish-American community with strong Republican feelings brought to life later with The Troubles.
Remembering people such as Michael Flannery, who fought in 1916, John McDonagh says: “Their hatred of the Free State knew no bounds. It was always, ‘Free State’, and ‘bastards’ wasn’t long after it.”
The second episode traces the impact of the 1981 hunger strikes and Noraid-organised visits of Irish-Americans to Northern Ireland in the mid-1980s that radicalised opinion across Irish-America.
It tracks, too, Sinn Féin’s entry into the top strata of US politics, including White House visits – a process that was first pressed by Noraid calls for a Northern special envoy and a visa for Gerry Adams. It also maps the volleys of criticism from Garret FitzGerald, Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and others on both sides of the Atlantic and in the press, with Noraid supporters often labelled as misguided, deluded or simply supporting evil.
“We always got a fair shot from The Irish Times and [the newspaper’s Washington Correspondent until 1992] Sean Cronin [who was the IRA’s Chief of Staff during part of the 1950s Border Campaign],” Galvin says.
Today, Noraid is a pale shadow of its former self. People still give it “money in their wills”, says Galvin, which is used for a few student bursaries and to help anyone “being victimised today because of their involvement in the struggle”.
Blacklisted for years, Galvin and others now get invited to official Irish Government events hosted by the Irish Consulate-General in Manhattan and get briefings from the Department of Foreign Affairs.
If, however, relations with “official” Ireland have warmed, ties with Sinn Féin have gone in the other direction – with Noraid pushed into the background and replaced by Friends of Sinn Féin.
Galvin tries not to sound hurt but it is clear that he is: “They started to run it down from the early 1990s. I was told that I was to stand back. ‘We want to go in a different direction,’ they said.
“They told me that I had an image as a supporter of the IRA, which I had, and that they wanted to go in a different direction,” he says. “It was actually more difficult to step back than it had been to step forward.
“No individual is that important,” he says, with a shrug.
Regrets
Looking back, one senses regret in Galvin, not in his interest in Northern Ireland, his support for the IRA or his involvement in Noraid since the 1970s but, rather, at the cost it inflicted on his own life.
He had joined Noraid hoping that he would not attract “a lot of publicity” because he was then “an assistant district attorney, a prosecutor, if you will”.
He goes on: “That was a path to a judgeship. That’s what I wanted to do.”
If Galvin is diplomatic, John McDonagh is not. For years, he interviewed Sinn Féin figures on his New York radio show when they were not allowed on the airwaves in the Ireland or the UK, along with editing The Irish People newspaper.
One of the first signs of changing winds from Ireland came, he says, when Sinn Féin ordered an Irish pipe band in Philadelphia who had long worn berets, black ties and black jackets that they could not “dress like that any more”.
“Sinn Féin came over, shut down everything. They traded in Irish Republicans in New York for Wall Street Republicans. They’re the only Republicans that Sinn Féin want to hear about. They don’t want to hear about Irish Republicans.”
People who had “carried the movement during good and hard times in New York were just jettisoned right off the bat”, says McDonagh, who speaks with humour in his voice but the bitterness underneath is palpable.
Neither is convinced that a United Ireland is coming soon or, perhaps, at all. Galvin wants a referendum but not one in 2030, while the British now just “smile indulgently as if this is something that is never going to happen”.
If it does, Galvin is not convinced that it would be fairly fought, believing that nationalist voters would be threatened with the loss of pension benefits and other losses if they vote for unity. Typically, McDonagh is blunter. “Listen, I’ve been listening to bulls**t in New York since the 1990s. Joe Cahill [the late IRA chief of staff] told me personally: ‘We’re getting the prisoners out and we’re going to have a united Ireland in about five, 10 years.’ He came and went.
“Then, Martin McGuinness said: ‘We’re going to have it in the next 10 years.’ That went nowhere. Then, Gerry Adams said it would be in 2016, on the 100th anniversary of the Rising. That didn’t happen.
“Now, we’ve Mary Lou coming out. Now, it’s not a United Ireland because the tone has changed. It’s a shared or an agreed Ireland. That’s the semantics and the wording now. Everything’s getting very fuzzy.
“The one thing I have found out is you can’t defeat human nature. The people who get into power turn exactly into the people they just turfed out.”
So, would he do it all again if he had the chance to roll the clock back 50 years? Just for a moment, he pauses, before recalling a conversation with senior IRA bomber and hunger striker, the late Brendan “Dark” Hughes.
“I asked him the same question as you have. ‘Brendan, would you have got involved knowing how it ended?’ He said, ‘I wouldn’t have got out of bed’.
“There are a lot of people who feel that way,” he says.
Do Noraid people meet up now? “At a freaking funeral home on Queens Boulevard, when they die. They’re the only meetings you’re going to get,” he replies, drily.
Bar Ernie O’Malley’s on Wednesday night.
Noraid: Irish America & the IRA begins Wednesday, July 9th, 9.35pm on RTÉ One
