
Police issue penalties after abuse directed at bands at Belfast Somme events
An officer also sustained a minor injury, having been struck on the head by a bottle during the parade.
The arrest took place in the Castle Street area of the city centre at 8.50pm.
Separately, a 19-year-old man was issued with a community resolution notice after shouting at a passing band in Royal Avenue.
A 16-year-old boy was also cautioned for shouting offensive slogans at a lodge member while it passed through Castle Place.
Though no offences were detected, a small grouping of young people were also noted to be acting disorderly in the Short Strand area.
TUV councillor Ron McDowell branded the incidents as intolerance.
'Attacks on Orange parades have been reported in multiple locations across the city, both verbal and physical in nature,' he said.
"The lodge I have been a member of for many years came under both verbal abuse and physical harassment on Royal Avenue.
'Similar reports are coming in from other areas as well.'
News Catchup - July 1st 2025
Mr McDowell said 'this kind of intolerance is nothing new'.
"Anyone who has been a member of the Loyal Orders for any length of time will have their own experiences to share,' he added.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Herald Scotland
5 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Police Scotland seeks support from PSNI for Trump visit
However, the PSNI is currently facing its own challenges in the wake of recent race riots in the region and the start on July 12 of the busy "marching season" of Orange and Loyalist parades. Police in the province have also been busy with security around the world's top golf tournament, The Open at Royal Portrush Golf Club which ended yesterday. READ MORE: Police braced for Trump visit with 5,000 officers deployed Top lawyer warns men accused of rape may not get a fair trial MSPs raise alarm over soaring welfare costs as bill to rise to over £9 billion It is not known if the PSNI will be in a position to offer assistance. The request from Police Scotland to the PSNI is currently being assessed. A spokeswoman for the PSNI told The Herald: "There are well established processes for any UK based Police Services to request support from other services at times of peak demand. "These requests are managed via the National Police Co-ordination Centre (NPoCC) and we can confirm that PSNI have received a request to provide mutual aid to Police Scotland which we are currently assessing. "The decision to provide officers under the mutual aid process will be considered against our own demands, ensuring that we retain the capacity to respond effectively to local issues and maintain our own operational competence." Police unions in Scotland at the weekend warned of a severe strain on resources ahead of Trump's visit with thousands of officers expected to be deployed and major protests planned. The White House confirmed last week that the US president will travel to his golf resorts at Turnberry and Balmedie between Thursday July 25 and Monday July 29, prompting one of the biggest policing operations in Scotland in recent years. Officers face cancelled rest days, extended shifts and deployment across multiple sites. David Kennedy, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, told the Sunday Mail: 'It's a recipe for disaster. We don't have enough cops. 'President Trump is a magnet to certain groups. There will be protests. And just because the President is in one place doesn't mean that's where the protests will take place. 'With this event, it is survival mode. That's the mentality that will set in.' He added: 'We'll survive but we shouldn't have to just survive. They will need plenty of help from the UK. 'All this costs money and Police Scotland's budget is already bust. Everybody working longer hours and days has a knock-on effect for months, if not years.' David Threadgold, the Federation's chair, told Scotland on Sunday the service would need to ask for help from other forces: 'This is a huge policing event for Scotland and we will require mutual aid because of the huge demand on my colleagues. 'Very few, if any, cops will not be impacted by next week's visit and beyond. 'I suppose the natural comparison in terms of scale is previous presidential visits and COP26. 'We are talking about bespoke workforce plans because although this is a well-established workforce, we are cognisant we cannot deliver this without impacting on individual officers across the country. 'What that means in simple terms is some may be required to work 12-hour shifts, for example, which normally wouldn't happen. 'That is the type of change cops will see during this event. We also need to consider how officers will eat and drink and rest during this policing, which will be a challenge.' He added: 'This is already a difficult time for Police Scotland as they are trying to organise and deliver this at short notice during a period of high annual leave.' Police Scotland was approached for comment.


ITV News
12-07-2025
- ITV News
Police say they're treating attack on Orange Hall in Co Antrim as sectarian hate crime
Police have said they are treating an attack on an Orange Hall in Co Antrim as a sectarian hate after 1:20am on Saturday, it was reported that paint had been thrown over the front of the building in the Main Street of Rasharkin and graffiti daubed on walls attack happened just hours before a Twelfth of July parade was due to take place in the town. PSNI Superintendent Sinead McIldowney said: 'We are treating this criminal damage as a sectarian-motivated hate crime.'The police service condemns all sectarian hate crime and criminal damage caused to any property is absolutely unacceptable.'We will thoroughly investigate this matter and would appeal to anyone with information to contact us on 101, quoting reference 177 of 12/07/25.'Our officers will continue to proactively patrol the area and engage with the local community around any concerns they may have.' TUV leader Jim Allister condemned the said: 'The overnight sectarian attack on Rasharkin Orange Hall and the painting of terrorist slogans in the village, before it today hosts Twelfth celebrations, typifies the unbridled hatred of Orange and unionist culture that is designed to drive out its remaining Protestant residents.'The local unionist community will nonetheless not be deterred by this latest manifestation of sectarian hatred.'


Spectator
11-07-2025
- Spectator
The hypocrisy of those attacking Moygashel's migrant bonfire
The marching season – when a section of Northern Ireland's unionist community take to the streets to commemorate the triumph of William of Orange against James II – has always been a useful barometer of the Ulster loyalist mood. Is the bonfire in bad taste? Yes. But should the people who erected it have to endure insufferable opprobrium from those who justify Kneecap telling their audience to 'kill your MP'? Certainly not From the 1960s, when Ulster Unionist MPs were barracked for their leadership's dalliances with ecumenism, all the way to the 1980s and 90s when the right to march in certain areas came to the fore, Orange gatherings have given a sense of what the rank and file feel about Northern Ireland. The 2025 bonfires – which traditionally start the Orange festivities – has kept up with the broader UK zeitgeist. Deep in County Tyrone, the bonfire in the town of Moygashel included an effigy of several figures in a boat above a banner which proclaimed, 'Stop the Boats'. The flag of the Republic of Ireland soon joined it. Outside of England, Northern Ireland has seen the biggest disturbances about demographic change in the past year. After Southport, Belfast saw protests and rioting, while in June there was violence in Ballymena, after two boys who required a Romanian interpreter in court were charged in connection with an alleged serious sexual assault. South Belfast snobs and Irish nationalists view the effigy and all that goes with it as yet another ghastly example of poorly educated working-class Protestant thuggery and bad taste. The same people who in recent months were solemnly intoning about Kneecap's right to artistic expression, were swift to condemn the pallet stackers of Moygashel. Police Service Northern Ireland are now investigating the 'hate incident'. This is classic Northern Irish whataboutery writ large. Is the bonfire in bad taste? Certainly yes. But should the people who erected it have to endure a police investigation and insufferable opprobrium from those who have bent backwards to justify Kneecap telling their audience to 'kill your MP'? Certainly not. Much of Orange pageantry can undoubtedly be crass. In South Belfast, a bonfire was lit on an asbestos riven site close to the energy infrastructure which powers two hospitals. The PSNI ignored a Belfast City Council vote to take it down after paramilitaries threatened disorder if it was removed. What cause this serves the Union is anyone's guess. Beyond the outrage about the banner, however, the most interesting thing about it is that it demonstrates the increasing prevalence of the backlash against illegal migration in the Northern Irish social and political firmament. South of the border, the liberal world view of painless assimilation has been rocked to its core by increased immigration. Now the thorny issue of migration, ethnicity and demographics has been layered on top of Northern Ireland's existing divisions.