SF Mayor defiant over flag incident

Sinn Féin Mayor of Limavady Anne Brolly had to run a sectarian gauntlet after 50 loyalist protestors demonstrated outside the council offices on Wednesday night 24 March over her decision to have the Union flag removed from the Council offices during events to celebrate St Patrick's Day.

Speaking after an attempt was made in the council chamber to oust her from her mayoral seat, Brolly said she wouldn't apologise as she had acted in the best interests of the people who were there for the St Patrick's Day festivities.

"I am what I am and I did what I did. On the day in question I thought the flag was inappropriate and I asked for the flag to come down," she said.

The loyalist protest was organised to coincide with the monthly meeting of the council, when unionist members tried to suspend standing orders to allow them to vote on a no confidence motion condemning the Mayor for her actions.

Six unionist councillors voted for and six nationalists voted against. Independent Brian Brown abstained, while the mayor didn't have a vote. The tie meant the motion was lost.

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin has threatened Belfast City Council with legal action after unionists dismissed a legal warning about the permanent flying of the Union flag at City Hall. Legal counsel Nicholas Hanna warned that flying the flag at City Hall at any time other than on the 15 statutory days may breach fair employment legislation and be seen as creating a non-neutral working environment.

A Sinn Féin motion, put before the council's policy and resources committee on Friday 26 March, called for the Tricolour to be flown alongside the Union flag, or alternatively for there to be no flag at all. The motion was defeated.

Sinn Féin's Eoin Ó Broin branded the committee's decision 'disgraceful'.

"We hope that when the flags issue comes before full council that it will be resolved in a sensible and mature fashion," he said. "However, unionists have stalled on this decision for two years and are deliberately ignoring the very clear warning from the council's own legal advisers."

Ó Broin added that Sinn Féin wants the issue of flags sorted out amicably, but if unionists insist on ignoring legal advice, then court action will be considered.