Chapel paint attack was 'hate crime'

THE weekend paint attack on at the Church of Our Lady in Harryville was the latest in a series of disturbances at the premises which began just before the Twelfth, a Parish priest has said.

Police are treating the incident at the chapel on the Larne Road, which has been the target of countless sectarian attacks over many years and the scene of weekly loyalist protests for a period in the 1990s, as a hate crime.

A tin of white oil based paint was thrown at the front of the church, landing on its steps, some time between Saturday evening and Sunday morning when it was reported to the PSNI.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Parish priest Father Patrick Delargy said the attack was the latest in a number of incidents at the church over the last month alone but expressed the hope that sectarian attitudes in the town will soften.

He said: “I know that the people of the area are disappointed with what has happened.

We have had cans, stones and bottles thrown at the church, which we continue to clear up.

"Almost every day there has been something thrown - stones or bottles. People may be treating it as a dumping ground.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It's an aggravation more than anything else because we are going back and forward trying to clear it up”.

Fr. Delargy said:“The latest incident was more obvious but I don’t think it is the beginning of anything. It is more associated with people just causing disturbance at this time of year.

"This is the first time we've actually had anything straight on the church as far as the paint is concerned.

“I was in east Belfast for seven years and saw attitudes change there. I have been in Ballymena for about nine months now and have noticed that certain parts of the town are slow to change inherited behaviour. My hope for the future is that attitudes will soften and people will behave in a reasonable manner.”

SDLP North Antrim MLA Declan O’Loan says he is “disappointed” by the incident.

He said: “Thankfully, it was not a serious incident but it was an unfor

Continued on Page 2

Related topics: