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Sarah Burns – 21 minutes ago
Entire minority communities being collectively blamed for actions of one person, says Ireland’s first black mayor
Entire minority communities were being collectively blamed for the actions of one person, that was not justice, it was racism and it was dangerous and deeply disturbing, Ireland’s first black mayor Lilian Seenoi-Barr has said.
Such actions needed to be called out, they were anti-immigrant, but some politicians were not prepared to call it that.
They were using vague language such as community tensions, disorder, violence in the street, but not naming it what it was – racism, she told RTÉ radio’s Today with David McCullagh show, Vivienne Clarke reports.
“It’s so disappointing and that needs to stop,” she said. “Our leaders need to show leadership, they need to stop using softened languages, they must speak with the one voice, stand with the communities being attacked and make it very clear racism, intimidation and far-right violence, will not be tolerated in Northern Ireland.”
Seenoi-Barr who is an SDLP councillor, was elected as mayor of Derry City and Strabane in 2024.
What was happening now in Belfast was similar what had happened in Ballymena in 2024, she said, when events were “fuelled by a dangerous combination of fear, misinformation spreading online, racist scare-mongering, far-right influence”.
This was indicative of a serious lack of leadership, she said.
“Our leaders have basically allowed a horrific crime to be exploited by people who want to divide our communities and it mirrors the other thing that is shocking, it’s the language that is being used here has been imported to Northern Ireland from other places.
“We see that such language being used in England, it’s being used in America and that is what is worrying us most. We also have to be very honest in Northern Ireland because the context here, there have been a long-standing concern about elements linked to loyalist paramilitary intimidation of minoritised communities, it is not new.
“This needs to be tackled and it needs to be taken seriously.”
Seenoi-Barr acknowledged that there were legitimate concerns about the housing shortage in Northern Ireland, but the issue was not that there were too many immigrants.
“The problem is the failure of governments to implement anti-poverty strategy here in Northern Ireland. The problem is the government that has refused to invest in its own people.
“The problem is the government that has refused to build an infrastructure that can support people and get people out of poverty, not immigration. We don’t have enough people from minoritised communities here to cause such a big havoc in Northern Ireland. That’s the fact.”
Lilian Seenoi Barr (centre) speaking to media at Parliament buildings at Stormont on Tuesday. Photograph: Liam McBurney/PA Wire Deputy First Minister: violence and thuggery has no place here
Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly of the DUP said the scenes on the streets of Belfast this week were “absolutely appalling”.
“It’s completely unacceptable. Violence and thuggery has no place anywhere here,” she said.
Everyone across Northern Ireland and beyond had been horrified when they saw the video of the horrific attack on Monday night, she told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland, Vivienne Clarke reports.
Little-Pengally said she understood people’s frustrations on immigration issues, but there was a minority of people who were determined to turn the issue into one that would spill over into “disorder, thuggery and violence. And that is absolutely wrong”.
“The vast majority of people here in Northern Ireland are appalled by disorder and violence,” she said.
“They are absolutely horrified by thuggery, regardless of where that comes from. So, of course, I think it’s incredibly important to have that strong and united leadership, political leadership, sending clear messages.
“Of course, people should remain calm. Peaceful protest is a right. People, of course, have that right to come out and to register frustration on any issue. But, of course, what is not right, what is completely unacceptable, is thuggery and violence. And we’ve been very clear about that. There will always be some elements that do not listen, that do not want to listen.
“In fact, I believe that they come out intent on trying to turn some of these otherwise peaceful protests into those types of disorder activities. And, of course, that’s very frightening for people in those parts of Northern Ireland. Again, it’s a small number of areas.”
It had been obvious from some of the audio clips of the violent incidents that there was “a strong aspect of that that is just simply racist”, she said.
“That has no part to play in Northern Ireland of 2026, never had any part to play.”
There were serious questions to be asked about vetting, she added, “about the immigration policy in the UK, the co-operation with the Irish Government, how those checks happen when people arrive into Dublin. Those are all questions that, of course, should be answered”.
At the moment people were frustrated, they wanted to be listened to, she said.
“There are bad actors out there that are willing to try to, of course, manipulate that. They are willing to try to use that to bring disorder and violence. That is wrong. I absolutely believe there is no space for violence or thuggery or racism. This has to be about politics working for people.”
Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly. Photograph: Liam McBurney/PA Wire ‘Appalling racist attacks need to stop’ – Pearse Doherty
The “appalling racist attacks” in Belfast need to stop, Sinn Féin deputy leader Pearse Doherty has said.
Vivienne Clarke reports that he told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland: “They have to stop and we need to see community leaders stepping up in relation to those communities.
“We know it’s isolated to predominantly loyalist areas but the scenes that we’re seeing where masked men are going door to door looking to see the colour of somebody’s skin is reminiscent of what happened in the late 60s when the same communities were going looking to see if people were Irish or Catholic and burning them out of their homes.
“It is simply unacceptable and we shouldn’t be looking and witnessing those scenes.”
The events highlighted once again the need for a bilateral arrangement with the British government in terms of migration, he said.
“What the Government unfortunately has done is they’ve put all their focus into implementing the EU Migration Pact which doesn’t take into account the fact that we are partitioned, that there’s another member state that is outside the European Union, that there is no official returns policy with Britain at this point in time.
“Let’s be very, very clear about that. That is a migration issue. That doesn’t take away in any way from what we’re seeing either in terms of the violent attempted murder or the racist attacks that have been happening and the excuses that have been used by people to involve themselves in wanton criminality over the last 48 hours.”
Sinn Féin deputy leader Pearse Doherty has condemned the Belfast attacks. Photograph: Sam Boal/Collins Photos
Police in Belfast deployed a water cannon against protesters throwing bricks as unrest sparked by a knife attack took place for a second day. Video: Reuters Peace Summit Partnership condemns racist attacks
The Peace Summit Partnership and Peace Guardians, a group of veteran peacemakers, have condemned the “horrendous incident” on Monday night that sparked this unrest.
“It was an appalling act, and our thoughts are entirely with the victim and their loved ones. We also condemn the racist attacks over the last two nights and stand in solidarity with the families who were violently forced out of their homes,” it said.
On behalf of the partnership, Tim Attwood said there is now an urgent need for collective leadership, accountability and action to prevent further violence and appalling racist attacks.
“We must stand in solidarity with the family affected by violent attack on Monday and families left in fear after the racist attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday night,” he said.
“Today, we all have a responsibility to extend the hand of friendship and help those in need. We have a responsibility to remove the barriers of prejudice and fear that separate us.
“We must intensify our efforts to seek common ground, build bridges where there are walls of division and stand for justice. Words also matter, rather than promoting division we should be speaking a language of inclusion and generosity which respects difference and diversity.”
The Peace Summit Partnership is an initiative by the John and Pat Hume Foundation, Community Dialogue YouthAction NI, Holywell Trust, INCORE (Ulster University), Integrated Education Fund, NI Youth Forum and the Glencree Centre for Peace & Reconciliation.
The PSNI has issued a statement saying it would like to speak with the people in these images in connection with serious public disorder in the Belfast area on Tuesday.
“If this is you, we are asking you to come forward to police now,” the statement said.
“Anyone who can assist in identifying this person, please contact police. If you have any information or wish to submit photos and footage, including CCTV, mobile phone or dash cam footage please contact police. Please do not comment on this post with information.”
A report can also be submitted online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/or you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/. You can also contact the PSNI on 101.
The PSNI said it would like to speak with the people in these images in connection with serious public disorder on 9th June 2026 in the Belfast area. Photograph: PSNI ‘Immigrant families are frightened to go out’
A Belfast clergyman has called on politicians, community leaders and church leaders to send a message that immigrant families are welcome and are part of the community.
Rev Brian Anderson of the East Belfast Mission of the Newtownards Road told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland of arriving at his church on Tuesday evening to find a bus fully alight with young men in hoods covering their faces trying to barricade the road, Vivienne Clarke reports.
Anderson said he made efforts to stop them from barricading the road, but was unable to and they moved on to adjoining streets where he saw cars and houses being set alight.
“What this has caused, fear, uncertainty. The immigrant families who live around the mission here are fearful of their lives, frightened to go out. I was with a family last night, a Romany family. There’s 23 of them living in a very small terrace house, frightened to go out.
“I arranged for accommodation for them last night, somewhere safe, but they were so frightened to come out of the house, they refused to go.
“There is an issue for us in Northern Ireland about integrating them into our culture and accepting their culture so that the two can sit together. So I think we want to rally around them. Then the bigger picture is trying to convince the Protestant community particularly that racism is not the way to solve this.
“If you have issues with immigration into Northern Ireland, then let’s deal with those, but you’ll not do it. You’ll not succeed. It’ll not do anything if you do it by violence.
“So we have a responsibility — pol–ticians, community leaders, church leaders — to –ry and find forums whereby the anger and the angst can be expressed, but in a way that’s non-violent.
“So we need to try and get forums to involve those people. Young lads, in particular, that they see a future with their Muslim friends who they’re probably going to school with, who are probably sharing classes with them.”
12 police officers injured, 16 arrests in second night of unrest
Twelve police officers were injured and 16 arrests were made in the second night of unrest in Northern Ireland following the Belfast knife attack, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn has said.
Protesters clash with police block their way to a hotel previously believed to house migrants, in Glengormley, north of Belfast. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images A water cannon is fired towards protesters on Antrim Road, at the Sandyknowes roundabout in Newtownabbey on Wednesday. Photograph: /PA Wire
Sarah Burns – 2 hours ago
Rita Devlin of the Royal College of Nursing has told of efforts being made to ensure nursing staff at hospitals in Northern Ireland from the international community are supported.
Some of them were very frightened and afraid to come to work, she told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland, Vivienne Clarke reports.
“Now I have to say our trusts have been extremely good in terms of trying to organise getting staff into work and organising taxis and things for them, but you know there were some staff [who] couldn’t get home and had to stay and work,” she said.
Sarah Burns – 2 hours ago
Twenty-seven people have been made homeless as a result of the unrest, which broke out following protests over a knife attack that left a man seriously injured.
A Sudanese man, Hadi Alodid (30), was remanded in custody at Belfast magistrates’ court on Wednesday for four weeks after being charged with attempted murder in relation to Monday’s attack.
The family of Stephen Ogilvie, the victim, appealed for calm in a statement that stressed the “deeply valuable contribution” migrants make.
Anti-immigration protesters also staged a demonstration in Dublin on Wednesday afternoon, when a large crowd descended on Leinster House.
Protests also took place in Derry on Wednesday night, where police reported items having been set alight on the Ardmore Road.
Other protests, including at Stormont, took place peacefully.
Sarah Burns – 2 hours ago
A police officer walks in riot gear on Antrim Road in Newtownabbey, north Belfast, on Wednesday. Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA Protesters set fires during disorder on Antrim Road in Newtownabbey, north Belfast, on Wednesday. Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA Protesters block a road leading to a hotel previously believed to house migrants in Glengormley, north of Belfast, on Wednesday. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images Masked protesters stand at a police blockade, keeping them from reaching a hotel previously believed to house migrants, in Glengormley, north of Belfast. Photograoh: Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images
Sarah Burns – 2 hours ago
Water cannon was deployed by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) on Wednesday to “maintain public order” during a second night of anti-immigration rioting in Belfast.
Masked protesters hurled bricks and missiles at riot police at the Sandyknowes roundabout in Newtownabbey on the outskirts of the city, where more than 200 people gathered before 8pm.
Two water cannon were fired after officers clashed with the crowd as fires were lit in the street.
PSNI chief constable Jon Boutcher confirmed 200 extra officers were deployed to Belfast to deal with any further unrest on Wednesday.
