The racist, homophobic graffiti was stencilled on an electrical box on Pollock Drive, Lurgan. (Twitter/ Ciarant1990)
The town of Lurgan in Northern Ireland was vandalised this week with horrific “no Irish, no gay” graffiti.
The words “no Irish, no gay” were stencilled on an electrical box on Pollock Drive in the Mourneview area of Lurgan, County Armagh, according to the Armagh i.
Sharing a photo of the latest graffiti on Twitter, Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) councillor Ciaran Toman wrote: “This racist and homophobic action is a direct consequence of the failure of political leaders.
“These views are not representative of the majority people of Lurgan nor in Northern Ireland and they will not be tolerated.”
“Spray-can warriors will not hold back the progression of LGBT+ rights,” he added.
This racist & homophobic action is a direct consequence of the failure of political leaders.
These views are not representative of the majority people of Lurgan nor in NI & they will not be tolerated.
Spray-can warriors will not hold back the progression of LGBT+ rights pic.twitter.com/OXCGFq3is7
— Cllr. Ciaran Toman (@Ciarant1990) May 20, 2021
The racist, homophobic graffiti appeared a month after the words “f**k your gay Pride” were daubed on an abandoned house in full view of patients attending Lurgan hospital.
Alliance Lurgan councillor Peter Lavery said at the time: “Those spray painting these homophobic statements do not represent the vast majority of people here, and I condemn them and their actions entirely… All of us must unite and face down homophobia and those who promote it.”
Just last year, two gay men were brutally beaten with a tyre iron in their own home in Lurgan, in a suspected hate crime.
In August, 2020, two individuals broke into the property “then threatened two males and assaulted them with a tyre iron”, police said.
Luckily the men were not seriously injured, but a 26-year-old was later arrested in connection with the attack.
Local police said at the time: “One man was later arrested on suspicion of threats to kill and aggravated burglary with intent to commit grievous bodily harm.
“He remains in police custody at this time.
“At this stage, one line of enquiry is that this may be a homophobic hate crime.”