Language rights group calls on PSNI and government department to remove anti-Irish flags

An Irish language rights group has called on the PSNI and the Department for Infrastructure to act to ensure the “immediate” removal of offensive anti-Irish language flags in south Belfast.

The flags, which include a Belfast City Council logo, have been placed on lampposts on Belfast’s Lisburn Road, close to the city centre.

The council has said it does not condone the use of its logo, while the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) has said it was engaging with the PSNI to “identify the most effective ways to tackle this problem”.

There have been calls for the flags to be removed as Belfast prepares to host next month’s Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann for the first time.

Irish language rights group Conradh na Gaeilge has described the flags as an “attempt to intimidate Irish speakers” and called on the police and the Stormont department to work together to have them removed urgently.

In the letter addressed to Infrastructure minister Liz Kimmins, PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher among others, the group said: “We are incredibly disappointed to see reports of an anti-Irish language flag on the Liburn Road, Belfast.

• “There is no place in today’s society for displays of hate against the Irish language or for attacks on a public authority who promotes Irish.

“Conradh na Gaeilge stands resolutely against this display and any attempts to intimidate Irish speakers in public and shared spaces.

“We formally request that this flag is removed, and that the Department for Infrastructure and the PSNI work with Belfast City Council and the Irish Language Commissioner to ensure its removal with immediate effect.”

The Department for Infrastructure has said the “proliferation of illegally erected flags, often used to intimidate and mark out territory, is totally unacceptable,” while the PSNI says it is “continuing to engage” with relevant agencies over the erection of the flag.