Call for IRA atrocity banners to be removed

The loyalist banners show images from IRA atrocities throughout the Troubles. Credit: UTV

Calls have been made for banners depicting IRA atrocities to be removed from lampposts in a shared housing estate in south Belfast.

The Cantrell Close housing development was supposed to be a symbol of the new Northern Ireland.

But last summer, UVF flags went up and a number of Catholic families moved out after being told they were under threat.

And now loyalist banners bearing the hashtag ‘Stand up against sectarian’ and depicting IRA murders have been erected.

They show images from atrocities including the Enniskillen Poppy Day bomb, the Kingmill shootings, and the Hyde Park bombing in London.

Some residents told UTV they were too afraid to speak out. One added that they were deeply unhappy about the banners and that they had changed the atmosphere in the area.

However, another said it was just part of life in that part of the city.

Victims’ campaigner Alan McBride lost his wife and father-in-law in the Shankill bomb - which also features on one of the banners.

He said he did not feel those behind the banners had any right to use the images.

Victims' campaigner Alan McBride lost his wife and father-in-law in the Shankill bomb. Credit: UTV

“I respect there may well be other victims of the Shankill that feel differently and that’s fair enough, that’s for them to have their say,” Mr McBride told UTV.

“But for me … I wasn’t consulted, I wasn’t asked.

“And, to be honest with you, I think there’s a bit of a cheek going on for people to come and to use the Shankill bomb to spout out this kind of sectarian nonsense.”

Those linked to the banners insist they are there to reflect factual images from the Troubles.

But Radius Housing, the body that managed the Cantrell Close development, is adamant that the banners should not have been erected and that they should be removed immediately.

Chief executive John McLean said there was no consultation with residents in the area and that the imagery was not appropriate for a shared living scheme.

“Our staff have been on site to ensure that everyone can enjoy living in their homes and local community without any type of intimidation,” he said.

“Our prime concern is the welfare of the people who live in Cantrell Close and Global Crescent, and they should not be the focus of a wider political debate.”

The organisation has been in contact with police.