MEETINGS with the Traveller community have been arranged in a bid to resolve a feud that escalated into clashes in a church graveyard and at Belfast International Airport.
A fight broke out on Saturday evening in the airport's departures area as two groups of passengers brandished objects including mops and metal poles.
Earlier that morning, police used batons as they intervened to prevent a mass brawl involving more than 200 people in the grounds of St Mary's Church in Park village in Co Derry.
Officers had searched the area beforehand and seized two loaded shotguns, ammunition, several knives and blades, and a liquid believed to be acid.
It's believed some members of the Travelling community were in Park for the rededication of a family grave, but others arrived and tensions escalated.
Sinn Féin's Sean McGlinchey has said there is an "ongoing feud between different factions" in the Travelling community, and he believes the airport incident involves the "same crowd".
The councillor said yesterday that he and fellow party councillor Ian Milne have arranged meetings for Saturday with "both sides" of the Traveller dispute in a bid to ease tensions.
"Myself and Ian Milne are meeting separately both sides involved in it and hopefully we will take it from there," he said.
"I do think they realise themselves that it's way over the top. Hopefully some common sense will be brought to it."
The PSNI has said it is examining a possible link between the graveyard and airport incidents.
Belfast International has said an investigation into the violence is continuing and urged anyone with information or footage to get in touch.
No arrests have yet been made.
