Police link two attacks on Ballymena war memorial as sectarian hate crimes
- Love Ballymena
- 1 hour ago
- 5 min read
A Ballymena war memorial has been vandalised for the second time in three days, with police now confirming they believe both attacks are linked and are treating them as sectarian-motivated hate crimes.
Independent Ballymena Councillor Rodney Quigley said he was furious after the Queen Street memorial in Harryville was targeted again in the early hours of Monday, 10 August, with flags stolen and flag poles damaged.
The latest incident came after the memorial was attacked early on Saturday morning, when flag poles were broken and flags taken. Replacement flags had subsequently been put up, only for the site to be targeted again.
Police are now appealing specifically to anyone who was travelling through the Queen Street or Harryville areas during the hours of darkness on either Saturday or Monday and may have seen suspicious activity or captured useful dash-cam footage.
‘Second time in three nights’
Councillor Quigley said:
“After replacing the Memorial flags on Saturday, we wake again this morning to discover that the Queen Street Memorial to those from the street who died at the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916 has been vandalised for the second time in three nights, with the flags once again stolen.
“Whoever carried out these two attacks are nothing but the scum of the earth and have nothing positive to offer today’s society.
“This is not usually the kind of language I use on social media, but after these two attacks, I can find no other words to describe the individuals responsible.
“Rest assured, the pole will be fixed and the flags replaced, just as they were on Saturday.”
Police believe attacks are linked
Confirming an investigation into both incidents on Monday evening, Superintendent Calderwood said:
“This is the second report we have received relating to damage and theft at the memorial in the past three days. The first incident occurred early on Saturday morning when flag poles were broken and flags taken.
“We believe both incidents to be linked and are treating them as sectarian motivated hate crimes.
“I would appeal to anyone who was travelling in the Queens Street/Harryville areas during the hours of darkness on the 8th or 10th August and who may have noticed any suspicious activity or captured dash-cam footage which could assist with our enquiries to come forward.”
Anyone who can help police can use the PSNI witness appeal form at:
The reference for the latest appeal is 275 10/08/26.
Information can also be provided by calling police on 101, or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at:
Volunteers had worked to improve memorial
The attacks come after volunteers from Harryville and Clonavon Recovery & Regenerate spent recent weeks cleaning, tidying and improving the area around the memorial and its commemorative bench.
The memorial was first erected by the local community around 15 years ago in remembrance of men from Queen Street who died on 1 July 1916 at the Battle of the Somme.
It originally stood beside the former pipe yard wall but was removed when construction began on the Home Bargains store site.
The memorial was reinstated in June this year around 20 yards further along Queen Street, while a memorial summer seat was also added earlier this year.
Ulster Unionist Party leader and North Antrim MLA Jon Burrows described the repeated attacks as “despicable and deeply disrespectful”.
Mr Burrows said:
“I am absolutely disgusted to learn that this memorial has been attacked and damaged for a second night over the course of this weekend.
“This is not simply an act of mindless vandalism. It is an attack on a place of remembrance dedicated to those who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Great War.
“This memorial provides a quiet place where people can sit, rest and reflect. More importantly, it serves as a lasting reminder of the men and women who gave their all in service and sacrifice. Whatever motivates someone to deliberately target such a place, there can be absolutely no excuse for it.”
‘Local volunteers have spent weeks giving their own time’
Mr Burrows said the attacks were particularly upsetting given the work carried out by local volunteers.
He continued:
“What makes this even more sickening is the fact that local volunteers have spent weeks giving their own time and effort to clean and improve this area. The volunteers from Harryville and Clonavon Recovery & Regenerate should be thanked for the pride they have shown in their community. Instead, they are now having to witness their hard work being deliberately destroyed.
“To attack this memorial once was disgraceful. To return and target it for a second night shows a level of contempt for our community, for the volunteers who care for this area and, above all, for the memory of those commemorated here.
“Those responsible should be under no illusion about the strength of feeling within the local community. People are rightly angry and they want to see those behind these attacks identified and held accountable.”
Mr Burrows had earlier said he intended to speak with the PSNI about the investigation and wanted “every reasonable effort” made to identify those responsible.
He added:
“We will not allow the actions of a small number of individuals to diminish the significance of this memorial or the respect that the overwhelming majority of people in Ballymena have for those who served and sacrificed.”
Descendants of fallen soldiers express ‘hurt and anger’
Ulster Unionist Party Braid Councillor Alan Barr has also condemned the attacks, revealing that descendants of men killed in action have contacted him in recent days to express their hurt and anger.
Councillor Barr said:
“Once again, I am disgusted to learn that the War Memorial in Harryville has been desecrated by mindless vandals. This is the second attack in just three days.
“There can be no justification for desecrating a memorial to those who gave their lives. It is an act of disrespect not only to the fallen, but to their families and descendants and to the wider community.
“Over the past couple of days, descendants of men who were killed in action have contacted me to express their hurt and anger at what has happened.”
Councillor Barr also pointed to the shared sacrifice of soldiers from different traditions during the First World War.
He said:
“On 1st July, I stood alongside Councillors Armstrong, Skinner and Quigley at the Guillemont Memorial to the 16th (Irish) Division, with representatives of the Irish Defence Forces also present.
“That memorial stands as a powerful reminder that war did not discriminate on the basis of religion or political belief. Men from different backgrounds served, fought and died together. Their sacrifice belongs to all of us.”
Councillor Barr had earlier said he would press police to treat the incidents as hate crimes. The PSNI has since confirmed that both attacks are being investigated as sectarian-motivated hate crimes.
He concluded:
“Those who desecrate war memorials should be ashamed of themselves. We will remember the fallen. We will not allow their sacrifice to be forgotten or their memorials to be treated with contempt.”
