Welcome in Carrick for German visitors

Carrick mayor Alderman Thomas J Patterson stated that the minister should not have made the statement without first consulting the local authority about housing.

The government had offered special mobility and resettlement grants.

Councillor Samuel Steele said this would encourage people to come to Carrick who had no desire to make the town a “respectable place”.

Councillor Ernest Burton said that Carrick did not want troublemakers and the council had “no time for republican-minded people”.

However, there was a warm welcome for a party of German visitors who were given emergency accommodation free of charge by a Carrick hotelier at the local YMCA.

Riots in the city prevented the group from staying at Belfast’s Shankill Road YMCA.

The party was also provided with free meals and a guided tour of Carrick Castle.

One visitor said: “Everyone has been very kind. They could not do enough for us.”