Queen's portrait defaced on Orange Hall

A portrait of the Queen has been defaced in an attack on an Orange hall near Lisburn.

Graffiti was daubed on the exterior of Derriaghy Orange hall and the portrait which was located at the front of the building, was also sprayed with paint.

It is understood the incident took place at the weekend, with nearby business premises also targeted.

The Derriaghy incident is the ninth reported attack on Orange property so far this year in Northern Ireland, and the third within the last three weeks following separate incidents in Wattlebridge, Fermanagh, and nearby Glenavy.

An Orange Order spokesman condemned those responsible.

He said: “Those who engage in such premeditated wanton vandalism should be ashamed of their actions.

“It is no coincidence such criminality should occur on the weekend of the Queen’s official 90th birthday celebrations. Such deliberate contempt for our monarch is contemptible and outrageous, and will quite rightly be condemned by the vast majority of the local community.

“The intolerant and ignorant delinquents behind this attack have nothing to offer our society going forward.”

The institution has appealed for anyone with any information in relation to the Derriaghy attack to contact the police urgently.

DUP councillor James Tinsley said that sectarian graffiti was sprayed on the Orange Hall and that the name of Oglaigh na hEireann was also sprayed on nearby hoardings at the same time.

“This puts a very sinister element to it,” he said. “And to deface her Majesty’s portrait in the week of her 90th birthday celebrations is disgusting.”

“This comes shortly after an attack on another Orange Hall at Glenavy. It is a bit worrying coming up to the 12th July.

“There are a lot of new houses in the area and this is the last message we want to be sending out.”

He said the incident was clearly a deliberate and sectarian attack.

“Concerned residents contacted me about this,” he said. “It is very prominent because the Orange Hall is right on the main street.”

Nearby graffiti which appeared at the same time included CIRA and KAH, which is understood to stand for “Kill All Huns” .

Mr Tinsley said that general community relations in the area were “very good”.

He added; “A lot of work has been done by community lreaders in recent years in this regard.”

The nearby graffiti also included Oglaigh na hEireann.