Sinn Fein slams Derry wreath vandals

Sinn Fein has hit out at an attack on Londonderry’s main war memorial after wreaths laid at the Remembrance Sunday commemoration were stolen and set on fire at Free Derry Corner.

Police were last night reviewing CCTV footage in a bid to establish the identities of two men in hooded tops seen in the area at around 3am.

Nationalist leaders in the city yesterday united to condemn the incident.

Sinn Fein councillor Mickey Cooper said that members of the community in the Bogside found a number of other wreaths close by and returned them to the Cenotaph.

He said that “it beggars belief that anyone would even contemplate doing this sort of thing”.

Mr Cooper added: “What happened here is totally wrong. There can be no place in our society for this kind of desecration or vandalism.

“It should not be used as an excuse by anyone to go out and do something similar or heighten tensions in any community.

“Each of us has our own culture and we must learn to respect those cultures equally.”

SDLP Foyle MLA Pat Ramsey — whose great grandfather was one of many Catholic soldiers who fought in the First World War

and whose name is inscribed at the cenotaph — strongly condemned the desecration.

Mr Ramsey said: “I want to make it clear, on behalf of the people of the Bogside in particular, that this action is not supported by that community.

“Those that felt the need to destroy items left at the memorial on Remembrance Day are contributing nothing to the tolerant society we are seeking to build — and indeed I would go so far as to say that if those responsible spent more time reading about the World Wars that memorial commemorates, than engaging in sectarian destruction, they would see many Irish names amongst the fallen.”

He added: “We are trying to address the past and move forward with a sense of optimism for the future, and this kind of activity is the hallmark of reckless and intolerant people who seek to drag us back to the era of one-upmanship, and they will fail.”

Meanwhile, Brian Maguire, district manager for the Royal British Legion in Northern Ireland, urged anyone with information about the incident to pass it on to the police.

Poppy Appeal co-ordinator Terence McKeegan added: “It is sad that this has happened. Everyone’s memory is sacred.”

A PSNI spokeswoman confirmed yesterday that “police in Foyle are reviewing CCTV footage”.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the PSNI in Derry on 0845 6008000 or independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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Contrary to popular belief, the names of the soldiers inscribed on Londonderry’s war memorial are almost exactly half Protestant (52%), half Catholic (48%). Catholics from the 16th Irish Division and Protestants from the 36th Ulster Division fought and died side by side in the battle for Messines Ridge in Belgium on June 7, 1917.

Belfast Telegraph