Catholic family targeted
By Connla Young
28/08/2006
Fears of a fresh sectarian campaign in north Antrim were sparked at the weekend when the home of a Catholic family was targeted in an attack by vandals.
The PSNI confirmed last night they are “investigating a sectarian motive as one line of inquiry” after windows in the house at Straid Road on the outskirts of the village were smashed.
Several windows in a car parked beside the house were smashed during the incident.
A number of Catholic families were forced to leave the area last year after their homes were attacked by loyalists. The PSNI took the unprecedented step of handing out fire blankets to Catholic home owners after a number of properties were firebombed.
Ballymena Sinn Féin councillor Monica Digney condemned the attack.
“We had hoped these attacks were a thing of the past. Catholics living in Ahoghill are very vulnerable and we saw that last year. We now see it again. These people need to take a look at what they are doing and stop it now. I only hope that this is not the start of another orchestrated loyalist campaign in the area.”
Tensions in north Antrim have been high since schoolboy Michael McIlveen died after being attacked by a loyalist mob. The 15-year-old was attacked on his way home from a night out in Ballymena, several miles from the latest sectarian incident.
'So venceremos, beidh bua againn eigin lá eigin. Sealadaigh abú.'
--Bobby Sands