Orange Institution saddened by NHS banner attack in Dunloy

The Orange Institution has been saddened by the attack on a banner supporting the NHS displayed on Dunloy Orange Hall.

In a time of unprecedented community cohesion in the face of Covid-19, it is disappointing to be reminded of the clear animosity and intolerance shown to our members and the unionist community. We had hoped that as a result of the shared hardships and efforts made by our whole community in recent weeks that these types of incident could have been consigned to the past – sadly it appears not to be the case.

The immediate priority and focus of our Institution and indeed all citizens of Northern Ireland must be to fight this pandemic by supporting the NHS, appreciating our essential workers, and doing all we can to support and encourage everyone to respect the social distancing and isolating guidelines in place at this time.

Our response to this attack will be to continue to strive to meet any need we can and assist all in our communities, regardless of creed or politics.

The Orange Family has played a central role in helping the elderly, vulnerable and isolated right across Northern Ireland and areas of the Republic of Ireland. We will not allow this incident to deflect from that good work.

We will deal with issues of this nature at a later date.