Sinn Féin councillor brands vandalism at Dungannon cenotaph 'disgraceful'

The matter was raised at a recent meeting of the committee by UUP group leader, Councillor Walter Cuddy who told the chamber of the “particularly nasty incident”.

He also called on the local authority to organise meetings between the Royal British Legion and elected representatives and council officers in the Dungannon/Moy area.

“The damage to the cenotaph last weekend was a particularly nasty incident, it wasn’t just lifting the wreaths off it, they ripped them apart,” said Cllr Cuddy.

“Hopefully the CCTV in the area will identify those that did this and bring them to justice swiftly.

“The Royal British Legion has asked for a meeting with councillors and officials in both Moy and Dungannon about this to see if there is anyway the wreaths and the cenotaph can be protected or to find ways to make it that wee bit more difficult for people to go up and pull off the wreaths.

“When there is no protection at all, a lot of people use it for very unsociable reasons. Can we organise this meeting for the next few weeks?”

Responding to these comments, the Chair of the committee, Sinn Féin Councillor Dominic Molloy described the attack as disgraceful and confirmed officers would seek to organise the requested meetings.

“This damage is disgraceful,” said Cllr Molloy.

“Monuments and graves across the board should be respected no matter where they are or what side of the community they belong to.

“Officers will take the request for meetings on board and do something to take that further.”