A banner at the site of a planned Irish language primary school in east Belfast calling for it to be relocated to where it is “wanted” has been condemned as “repulsive”.
The banner was placed on a fence at Montgomery Road, where plans have been approved to build a new temporary building for Irish language school, Scoil na Seolta.
The school is set to open later this year but has been opposed by some in the area.
The banner - which has since been removed - stated: “Relocate Irish school to where it is needed; relocate Irish school to where it is wanted.”
Police have said they are investigating it as a sectarian hate incident.
Concerns about the school were raised earlier this year at a meeting of the ‘Clonduff Concerned Residents’ group.
Anonymous leaflets were also posted to homes in the area, asking “Do you want an Irish language school in your area?”.
In September it emerged that the Loyalist Communities Council, which represents the views of the UVF and UDA, had advised Stormont DUP education minister Paul Givan that the proposal to build the school should be scrapped during a meeting.
Alliance Party leader and East Belfast MLA Naomi Long condemned the banner’s appearance.
“The level of interest in the preschool Naíscoil na Seolta is evidence that it is wanted and welcome and no one has the right to demand they move,” she said.
“It’s hard to imagine how fragile an adult’s sense of identity must be if it is threatened by bilingual toddlers playing in a sand tray or learning to count to ten.”
Alliance Lisnasharragh councillor Michael Long said: “Those behind this are not representative of people in East Belfast, who will rightly find it repulsive and I’d utterly condemn those who put it up.
- Paul Givan declined meeting with Irish language group but heard loyalist complaints about a gaelscoilOpens in new window
- ‘Concerned’ east Belfast residents to hold consultation after Irish language school plans passedOpens in new window
- Steady rise in Irish speakers in east Belfast as new school approaches opening dateOpens in new window
“Alliance representatives have been in contact with the PSNI and have urged anyone with any information to contact them too. Children have a right to go to school without fear or intimidation.”
SDLP councillor Séamas de Faoite said: “The continued harassment of Scoil na Seolta and those behind the project is absolutely disgraceful. Let’s call this out for what it is – a group of small minded people, who are in no way representative of the wider community, trying to stop young children from attending school.
“This is not about community concerns, it’s about bitter sectarianism and hatred.”
In a Facebook post, east Belfast loyalist activist Moore Holmes said the banner was a “clear and unambiguous message on behalf of concerned local residents”.
“This site has always been the most bizarre and inappropriate location for an Irish Language School,” he wrote.
“If the local demographic and the political sensitivities around Gaelic language wasn’t enough to sway you, then the mishandling of community engagement, the commercial and industrial nature of the site alongside the disingenuous misrepresentation of community attitudes before Belfast City Council by the organisers would be enough to do it. Relocate.”
Loyalist Jamie Bryson said: “It is legitimate to object to this cultural insurgency. It is not about opposition to a school; for those who want Irish language schools, then let them be built in areas which welcomes and wants Irish identity.”
He added: ““Those behind this political agenda are using schoolchildren as tactic as a means of a propaganda trick designed to force unionists/loyalists to feel compelled to open the door to the latest Irish cultural incursion. And of course, it never stops. Nationalism if given an inch will take a mile.”
A PSNI spokesperson said officers responded to a report, and the banner “had been removed prior to police attendance”.
They added: “The matter is being treated as a sectarian hate incident, and enquiries into the circumstances are ongoing.”
