Trade in insults must stop

On Monday, after a storm erupted on the social network, Facebook, after an image circulated purporting to show a banner erected on an August 15th bonfire in the Cityside insulting the memory of her son, Fiona Bonnes broke her silence to appeal to young people on both sides of the River Foyle to stop taunting each other’s communities. Her son, Kyle, drowned in the Faughan River after he was chased by police in April two years ago.

Ms Bonnes has steadfastly refused to speak to the press since her son died in April two years ago, but with her late son’s inquest due to start in October, and with what would have been his 18th birthday coming up in November, the bereaved mother broke her silence to beg young people to bring the trade in insults to an end. Opposed to insults directed at Currynierin teenager Ciaran ‘Walla’ Doherty, who died in a car accident several years ago, Ms Bonnes appealed for respect to be shown.

“All of those I know on Facebook are offended, as are a lot of other people,” said Fiona, referring to the picture, which shows a sheet on a bonfire daubed with the slogan ‘Kyle Bones weres your armbandz ha ha ha’.

“The picture was sent to my brother William, who sent it to my brother Robert. He could not bring himself to send it to me and it was Robert that came to me about it. A girl in The Fountain also sent me a link to the picture to my mobile phone,” she said.

Admitting that she had been upset and shocked by the picture, Fiona said that once she calmed down she contacted the police.

“They said they went out to the bonfire at Creggan but there was nothing on it and I asked them how it was all over the Internet. This banner was very different to the one used on the bonfire last year. The community police were out to see me on Monday, and I gave them the link to the picture,” she said.

“This is the third banner or flag that has appeared on a bonfire in the town in the past two years since Kyle died and I don’t see the sense in it. I contacted Sinn Fein and left a message for their MEP through Twitter, but I have had no response from them,” she said.

“I have had enough of this. Last year when the cross went missing off the memorial to that young boy Ciaran Doherty, in Currynierin, I went round the houses knocking on doors asking for it to be returned. I asked for whoever had it to just put it though my letterbox. I know what it is like to be on the receiving end of these acts and it is none too nice and I am appealing now for anyone who knows where that cross is or what happened to it to let Ciaran’s family or me know or to return it.

“This sort of thing hurts. These tit-for-tat insults have to stop. They are not solving anything and are hurtful to the families. It is terrible and I am appealing for those who are doing it to have more respect for Ciaran and Kyle. I am appealing for anybody that has that cross to hand it back,” she said, adding: “I have calmed down about the banner now. To be honest I had to laugh at it because they cannot even spell properly.”

A spokeswoman for the PSNI confirmed police had spoken to the grandmother of Kyle Bonnes and, while the bonfire at Lecky Road was moved as it was considered a hazard, there was nothing on either the bonfire at Lecky Road or that at Creggan and as a result nothing was removed from either.