Sectarian graffiti daubed on church

Posted By: August 16, 2014

UTV ( ULSTER TV) Saturday, 16 August 2014

Sectarian graffiti has been painted onto a Catholic church on the outskirts of west Belfast.



The attack on St Peter’s Church on the Rock Road in Stoneyford happened overnight and was reported at around 8.15am on Saturday.

Similar graffiti was also reportedly daubed on St Joseph’s Church in Glenavy, Co Antrim.

SDLP Lisburn Councillor Pat Catney said he believes the churches were targeted because of damage caused to a war memorial in the area on Friday.

“Paint was thrown on memorial and what they put on the side of the churches was ‘tit for tat’ – but this is a backward step,” he said.

“I work in the SDLP for community relations for a better and more prosperous future, this is the complete opposite to where we want to go.

“The people who did this have nothing to offer and if anybody knows anything at all about this, let’s give it to the police, let’s bring them out into the public and name and shame them.”

Alliance Lisburn Councillor Brian Dornan has expressed his disgust at the acts of vandalism and appealed for anyone with information to contact the PSNI.

“Sectarianism has no place in our society. I am deeply saddened that paint has been thrown over the war memorial in Stoneyford. This attack comes as people from all backgrounds came together to commemorate the start of World War One,” he said.

“Any attack on a place of worship is completely unacceptable. I would condemn those behind this graffiti in the strongest possible manner.

“There can be no justification for these mindless acts of vandalism. I know the local community will be outraged at all of these crimes.”

Police are treating the attack on St Peter’s Church as a hate crime and appealed to anyone who witnessed the incident or anyone who saw any suspicious activity in the area overnight to contact them at Lisburn Police Station on the non-emergency number 101 or anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.