{"id":208257,"date":"2025-06-23T17:52:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T17:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/208257\/"},"modified":"2025-06-23T17:52:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T17:52:12","slug":"ballybeen-east-belfast-bonfire-signs-and-messages-attacking-alliance-party-and-dup-treated-as-sectarian-hate-crime-by-psni","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/208257\/","title":{"rendered":"Ballybeen: East Belfast bonfire signs and messages attacking Alliance Party and DUP treated as \u2018sectarian hate crime\u2019 by PSNI"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the weekend, graffiti was daubed on a mattress placed at the site of the Ballybeen bonfire in Dundonald which read: \u201cAll taigs will be crucified\u201d, alongside another racist slur.<\/p>\n

The Alliance Party has since slammed \u201cvulgar\u201d signs placed on an on the bonfire which included a message aimed at the political party. <\/p>\n

While the mattress has since been removed from the site, a number of other signs still remain, including signage stating: \u201cNo single foreign men\u201d.<\/p>\n

Another message hits out at the DUP over the Windsor Framework, stating: \u201cDUP Irish Sea Border Sell Out\u201d.<\/p>\n

A new sign placed on the bonfire on Monday also referenced the Alliance Party.<\/p>\n

In a statement, police confirmed enquiries are ongoing into the signs. <\/p>\n

“Police received a report of material located in the Drumadoon Drive area of Dundonald on Saturday 21st June bearing a sectarian slogan,\u201d a PSNI spokesperson said. <\/p>\n

“This is being treated as a sectarian motivated hate crime, and enquiries are ongoing. Anyone who might have any information which could assist is asked to contact 101, and quote reference number 810 of 21\/06\/25.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alliance councillor Sharon Lowry condemned the signs and said: \u201cEveryone has a right to celebrate their culture but it must be done in a safe and respectful manner. The continued displays we have seen at this bonfire are disgraceful and should be condemned by all.<\/p>\n

“I urge the bonfire builder to remove them immediately. Such vulgar displays do not represent the vast majority of people in Ballybeen, who are just appalled by them as I am.”<\/p>\n

Also speaking out about the messages on the bonfire, Sinn Fein councillor Padraig Donnelly said: \u201cThis behaviour, openly sectarian and racist, is disgusting and has no place in our society.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The bonfire in Ballybeen<\/p>\n

News Catch Up – Monday 23rd June<\/p>\n

\u201cPolitical and community leaders must show leadership and state clearly that these acts are deplorable and unwelcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vast majority of people here are focused on moving forward \u2014 working together to build a better future, even in the face of hate and division.\u201d<\/p>\n

The DUP and PSNI has been contacted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Over the weekend, graffiti was daubed on a mattress placed at the site of the Ballybeen bonfire in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":208258,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[924,29366,1249,1144,1610,11528,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-208257","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-democratic-unionist-party","9":"tag-east-belfast-news","10":"tag-kurtis-reid","11":"tag-northern-ireland","12":"tag-police-service-of-northern-ireland","13":"tag-sinn-fein","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114733956821289066","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/208258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}