Rally to mark Mountpottinger Barracks closure

East Belfast Sinn Féin representative Niall Ó Donnghaile has announced a rally to mark the closure of Mountpottinger Barracks. The rally will take place on Monday 31 August at 7pm outside Mountpottinger Barracks.
Niall Ó Donnghaile said:
“Next Monday’s rally is an opportunity for the community to come together and mark this historic event, the closure of Mountpottinger Barracks.
“This has been a long fought and hard won campaign by the people of the Short Strand. This militarised barracks has been a blight on the local community. It served as a reminder of all that was wrong with policing here and presented an obstacle to the development of the type of civilianised community policing that we want to see here.
“The closure and removal of this facility will allow the PSNI to properly redirect both personnel and resources into effective, community based policing. We are committed to ensuring a safe environment with an effective community based police service, able to tackle the issues that people are concerned about. Mountpottinger Barracks, and all that it represents, has no role in that endeavour. There is no doubt that the people of this community will be glad to see the back of this militarised structure.
“Monday’s rally will also focus on the future; it will focus on our area’s urgent need for social, family homes. We will use this rally to continue to highlight that need and make sure that the land is used for housing.
“We are calling on the DSD to urgently acquire this land for the development of social, family homes.
“I would urge everyone who has supported our campaign over the years to come along to the rally and enjoy what will no doubt be a brilliant night; in particular we are calling on ex-pats to make the journey over. There will be traditional musicians playing and a buffet in Saint Matthews Club immediately after the rally.”