Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has condemned the “racist intimidation and violence” that erupted in Northern Ireland on Tuesday night, which she said was “orchestrated by loyalist and far-right thugs”.
Violence in Belfast and Beyond
Violence erupted in Belfast and other parts of Northern Ireland, drawing sharp criticism in the Dáil parliament on Wednesday. Irish premier Micheál Martin described Monday’s stabbing attack as “savage” and the subsequent violence on Tuesday night as “appalling” and “orchestrated”.
McDonald’s Condemnation
During Leaders’ Questions, Ms McDonald condemned the “nightmare” stabbing attack in Belfast and expressed solidarity with the victim. She praised the “selfless bravery” of members of the public, including a man who used his son’s hurling stick to intervene, and the “swift” actions of the PSNI.
“It was right that political leaders in the North came together to unequivocally condemn this attack and to call for the swift delivery of justice,” she said in the Irish parliament.
She then condemned the masked men and “organised mobs” who burned families out of their homes, drawing parallels to the pogroms on Bombay Street in Belfast in 1969.
“We witnessed racist intimidation and violence orchestrated by loyalist and far-right thugs, people hell-bent on whipping up hatred for their own ends,” she said.
“When we said that we would never allow anyone to be treated this way again we meant it, and we meant anyone, not Irish, not any community.
“Nobody has the right to spread fear, to intimidate, to terrify innocent families, and we have a duty to communities to show political leadership to stand up for what is right.
“These are the same people, by the way, who in July will burn Irish tricolours on the top of their bonfires — they need to be faced down, their organised racism needs to be faced down.”
Taoiseach’s Response
Mr Martin praised the “unified” message from political leaders following the stabbing. He expressed shock at the graphic representation of the attack on social media and condemned the orchestrated violence.
“It’s beyond our comprehension that a person could wield such violence on another individual in such a manner, and (the) very graphic representation of that on social media, I think, has shocked many, many people,” the Taoiseach said.
“I would join with all members of this house in condemning unreservedly the attacks of last evening. They were orchestrated.
“We’ve had evidence of this in other countries where situations like this get exploited, and which results in the violence of the type we saw last evening.
“I think all of us have to be very vigilant, very clear in standing up for fundamental values, particularly human values, in terms of the dignity of every single individual in our society.
“There can never be any implied justification for the attacks of last evening.
“No-one has the right to take the law into their own hands and no-one has the right to say to someone ‘You’re not living here anymore’.”
Threats Against Lord Mayor
Mr Martin also condemned threats made against Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Belfast Róis-Máire Donnelly, which was raised by Ms McDonald in the Dáil.
“Such threats are appalling and must be roundly condemned,” he said.
“Unfortunately, it’s become an increasing phenomenon in this era that there are increasing numbers of threats to public representatives across the board, and to threaten the lord mayor in the context of yesterday and the day before is appalling, and has to be condemned.”
“Also, yes, we have to face down racism,” he added.
“We also have to make sure that our Gardaí here and the PSNI in the North are adequately resourced and supported without any equivocation in all communities to pursue these people, these people who seem to think that they can create an alternative framework to get their way and they must be resisted by all of us.”
Ms McDonald told the Dáil that the lord mayor would “continue to stand with every community in Belfast and continue to call out racist thugs”.
