“That those who call themselves ‘Irish patriots’ then socialised with a man suspected of multiple murders, including the killing of our loved ones, is sickening”
After businesses, including a café and supermarket owned by immigrants, were attacked in the aftermath of Saturday’s protest, some of those who travelled from Dublin gathered in a Sandy Row bar.
One if the loyalists they were socialising with was described as ‘Suspect 4’ in a Police Ombudsman report into the 1992 gun attack on Sean Graham’s Bookmakers where five people, ranging in age from 15 to 66, were murdered.
According to the Belfast Telegraph, a number of suspects, including the loyalist widely believed to have been the getaway driver, were identified by a Police Ombudsman investigation into the UDA unit responsible for the attack.
The scene of the 1992 massacre
Families of the victims have said they’ve been “sickened” by the displays of racism and sectarianism on the Ormeau Road on Saturday.
“That these people joined together in an attempt to attack our neighbours and friends was shocking, and very upsetting for victims and survivors,” the Belfast Telegraph has quoted them as saying.
“That those who call themselves ‘Irish patriots’ then socialised with a man suspected of multiple murders, including the killing of our loved ones, is sickening.
“This is an unholy alliance formed through hate and other nefarious activities and they are not welcome and will find no support among our community, who have suffered enough.”
The PSNI have said they’re working with gardaí to identify any suspects who crossed the Border to become involved in violence.
Meanwhile, protestors with a “Coolock Says No” banner who showed up at an anti-immigration rally at Phoenix Park in Dublin yesterday were told to leave by others attending the demonstration.
The gathering outside Garda headquarters on the North Road descended into chaos after a number of anti-migrant demonstrators showed up at the site carrying the banner.
One man can be heard saying: “That banner is not welcome here… we are f***ing Irish, no loyalists here.”
“I’m tellin’ ya get out of here, get that f**king sign out of here,” one man can be heard shouting in footage taken at the small protest outside of Garda HQ.
As shouting between the groups continues, one voice can be heard saying: “See that, that shouldn’t be with a British flag it shouldn’t” before someone appears to push the banner.
The aftermath of rioting in the Sandy Row area of Belfast on Saturday
Another man can be heard saying: “The banner is not welcome here, I’d rather you respect the people that organised it and put the banner away.”
“There’s no loyalists here,” the first man says. “There’s no one getting called loyalists here, we’re f**king Irish, we don’t forget our history.”
Taoiseach Simon Harris has also expressed his disgust at those flying the Irish Tricolour whilst attacking police and spouting racism.
“This is repugnant to everything the Irish flag represents,” he said.
The string of violent incidents over the past few days began on Tuesday in Southport, after three girls were killed in a knife attack.
The victims were Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine.
Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 17, from Lancashire, is accused of the attack, but false claims spread online that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat.
