Burning of Orange hall and Tricolour condemned

SDLP and Sinn Féin representatives condemned the burning of an Orange hall at Lavin, near Armoy, Co Antrim which took place in…

SDLP and Sinn Féin representatives condemned the burning of an Orange hall at Lavin, near Armoy, Co Antrim which took place in the early hours of yesterday. The interior of the hall, which was built in the 1870s, was destroyed in the fire.

"This is precisely what we did not need ahead of the march in Dunloy," said North Antrim MLA Seán Farren. "But let us be very clear that this is precisely why the hall was attacked," he added.

Sinn Féin Assembly member Philip McGuigan also spoke out: "Attacks on people because of their religion or attacks on property because of their religion are wrong and should stop."

Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service officer Charlie McAuley said four fire appliances from Ballymoney and Ballycastle had attended. "We will treat it as a deliberate fire until it is proven otherwise, but we will consider all possibilities," he added.

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"We prevented the fire getting beyond the dividing wall and a smaller part - a third of the building - getting to an oil tank which is at the rear," Mr McAuley said. "That was our main concern on arrival. The building was well alight before we arrived at it."

North Antrim Democratic Unionist Party MLA Mervyn Storey said it was not an accidental event: "The hall was attacked by paint first and there was access to the roof, so I don't think there's any doubt that this was deliberate." He said Orange Lodge members would rebuild the hall within a year.

There was condemnation also of the placing of a Tricolour daubed with the nickname of a young Catholic murder victim on a loyalist bonfire at Ahoghill, Co Antrim. Michael McIlveen (15) was beaten to death by a gang in Ballymena last May. The message on the flag was: "F*** Mickybo."

Co Antrim Orange Grand Master Robert McIlroy said: "Within the institution of County Antrim we have a situation where we want tolerance and we want respect of each other's cultures and traditions. Certainly for the Orange Order in County Antrim there's no place for sectarianism or bigotry."

Sinn Féin's Philip McGuigan said: "The family of this young man have gone through enough this year already without having to hear about these sectarian displays of hatred directed toward their son. How could these flags have been permitted to be put up in the Ballymena area?" A police spokesman said the incident was a setback for community relations: "This type of disgraceful display only undermines the good work that is being done."

Meanwhile, it was reported that the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service received more than 300 emergency calls in the hour after midnight on the so-called "Eleventh Night" prior to yesterday's Orange parades.