Burning of flags, poppy wreaths, and football shirts being treated as 'sectarian hate crimes'

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Bonfires are traditionally lit in nationalist areas of Derry on August 15

Burning of flags, poppy wreaths, and football shirts is being treated as "sectarian hate crimes" in Northern Ireland.

Police have condemned several incidents in which the items were placed on bonfires in Londonderry.

Sinn Féin has condemned the burning of images of First Minister Michelle O’Neill in one of the fires.

Ms O’Neill has said she “will not be deterred, distracted or intimidated” from her work.

In a social media post, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Sir Chris Bryant said: "The burning of images of the First Minister Michelle O’Neill along with other symbols and flags at the bonfire last night in Derry-Londonderry was wrong and I strongly condemn it.

"Hatred like that only takes us back to the past - which is not what the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland want.”

Bonfires are traditionally lit in nationalist areas of Derry on August 15 and are associated with the August anniversary of the introduction of internment without trial during the Troubles.

They also coincide with the Catholic Feast of the Assumption.

Department for Infrastructure staff had previously removed pallets and poppy wreaths from a bonfire in the Bogside area.

Chief Superintendent Gillian Kearney, PSNI Commander of Derry City and Strabane, said: “There were a number of bonfires in the city on Saturday 15 August; in Bligh’s Lane in Creggan, on Lecky Road in the Bogside and on Corrody Road in the Top of the Hill area of the Waterside.

“Material placed on these bonfires included flags, poppy wreaths, banners, political material, sashes, football shirts and other items. These are being treated as sectarian-motivated hate crimes."

They added: "Additionally, during an operation on 13 August, led by the Department for Infrastructure to remove pallets from underneath the Lecky flyover in the Bogside, a number of other items were uncovered. These included six poppy wreaths and a World War One commemoration banner."

Ms Kearney added: "Police inquiries in respect of how these items came to be there are under way and as part of inquiries to establish their ownership, we appeal to anyone who believes any of the wreaths or the banner belongs to them, to call us on 101, quoting reference RM26049446, to reclaim them.

"Inquiries are ongoing in relation to all of these incidents, and all offences will be investigated accordingly.”

The senior officer said: "The material placed on bonfires in the city is disgraceful, and is to be condemned. It will have no impact on the work we do every single day to make a difference and help the communities we serve."

Referring to the images of Sinn Féin vice president Ms O’Neill being burnt on a bonfire, Mr Finucane said: "These bonfires are not republican. They are anti-people, anti-community, anti-democratic and are, in their hate-filled sectarianism, the very antithesis of Irish republicanism. These bonfires disgracefully imitate the most offensive aspects of loyalist bonfires in their sectarianism, their criminality and recklessness.

"The small number of young people and children involved, often manipulated by others who stand in the shadows, are not representative of the majority of young people who are engaged in positive and productive cultural activities all year round.”

The MP added: "At the Fleadh and Féile in Belfast and in the Derry Féile we see the future of this island in the positive and inclusive celebration of Irish culture and identity. The isolated events in Derry last night are the opposite and can have no part in that future."

In a social media post, Ms O’Neill said the burning of her image was the "very opposite of republicanism”, adding: “Let me be very clear, I will not be deterred, distracted or intimidated. I will continue to call out sectarianism, anti-community activity and destruction wherever it comes from. These bonfires are a blight on our community."

Republican and loyalist bonfires continue to be a source of controversy in Northern Ireland.

Bonfire builders from both communities have provoked anger in the past by burning symbols associated with the other side’s culture.

Police had previously attributed disorder in Derry on Wednesday evening, which had included a petrol bomb being thrown at officers, to the earlier removal of material from a bonfire site in the Bogside.

DUP East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell described the scenes at bonfires in the city as "absolutely disgraceful".

Mr Campbell said: "Poppy wreaths stolen from the city’s war memorial, banners, alongside union flags, Northern Ireland flags and a Coleraine Football Club flag, have been placed on a republican bonfire. This is not culture.

"Reports of calls from the margins of the bonfire for the murder of Protestants and police officers are particularly sinister. There can be no place for such vile sectarian hatred or incitement to violence."

He added: "These scenes require unequivocal condemnation from across political and civic society."