The appearance of a loyalist paramilitary flag close to a Catholic primary school and a church in Co Down is being investigated as a sectarian hate crime.
The flag, bearing the emblem of the Protestant Action Force and featuring an image of two men in balaclavas pointing guns, appeared last weekend in Kilkeel, on a lamppost opposite Our Lady of the Angels Oratory in the Greencastle Road area.
The small Catholic church, built in the 1960s as a ‘chapel-of-ease’ for Kilkeel’s St Colman’s Church, is a short distance from St Colman’s Primary School in Kilkeel.
The Protestant Action Force was a cover-name used by loyalists to claim responsibilities for sectarian murders committed during the Troubles.
The name is most associated with the UVF and the Glennane Gang, which has been blamed for dozens of killings in the Co Tyrone and Co Armagh area in the mid-1970s.
A similar flag was recently placed on a lamppost outside a primary school in east Belfast ahead of it being used as a polling station in the UK General Election.
Newry, Mourne and Down Sinn Féin councillor Michael Rice said he had reported the “offensive” flag to both the PSNI and Stormont’s Department for Infrastructure (DfI), and urged its removal.
“I have contacted the PSNI and the Department for Infrastructure for this to be removed,” he told The Irish News.
“This is incredibly disappointing, and an attempt to intimidate the local people in Kilkeel. There is no doubt the location for the flag was specifically chosen to intimidate and stoke up tensions.
“Actions like this serve no purpose and must be condemned, especially during the summer months where we hope to entice visitors and tourists into the Mournes area.
He added: “All public and shared residential, retail, recreational areas, educational and workplaces must be respected, and kept free from sectarian threat or harassment.
“All political and civic leaders, and public agencies have a clear obligation to promote and protect good community relations.”
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A PSNI spokesperson said: “Police were made aware of a flag being flown in Greencastle Road, Kilkeel.
“Our Neighbourhood Policing Team officers have commenced an investigation into the raising of the flag, which is being treated as a sectarian hate crime, and engaged with partner agencies to progress removal.
“Anyone with information is asked to contact us on 101, quoting reference 1866 of 15/07/24.”
In April, it emerged that the DfI had not removed any flags or emblems from its street furniture including lampposts, despite requests for the department to do so rising by around 50% in the space of a year.
Responding to the issue in the Assembly, infrastructure minister John O’Dowd said: “Finding a sustainable solution to the ongoing problem of illegally erected flags and emblems requires leadership and a united approach.”
