18 August 2014
Sectarian church attacks and war memorial vandalism condemned
A SERIES of attacks against Catholic churches and a war memorial in the villages of Glenavy and Stoneyford, County Antrim, over the weekend have been condemned as "senseless" by local Sinn Féin representative Mary Kate Quinn.
"All of these attacks are wrong and this cycle of tit-for-tat vandalism achieves nothing and should stop immediately."
Sectarian slogans such as "Kill All Taigs"(Catholics) and others relating to the extreme unionist Orange Volunteers group – which is mainly based in Stoneyford – were daubed on doors, windows and walls of the St Joseph's Church in Glenavy and St Peter's Church in Stoneyford on Saturday night.
Helping in the clean-up of the churches on Sunday, Mary Kate Quinn said:
"There is no place in Glenavy or Stoneyford for this sectarian bile.
"The people who attacked these churches last night will not succeed in either intimidating the local community or disrupting the good community relations in the area."
The attacks followed a similar incident in July in which graffiti and paint was daubed on Castlerobin Orange Hall.
"Attacks on places of worship, Orange Halls, GAA clubs or other community facilities are wrong and should not happen," she said.
Mary Kate Quinn said the only way to stop these attacks was for all political parties to stand up and condemn such senseless acts outright.
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