Opinion

People in Dungiven respect presence of all faiths

WOULD like to clarify the issue of flags erected in Dungiven over the past weekend (August 1 to 4). The flags are put up each year to commemorate the death on hunger strike of local man Kevin Lynch.

Kevin gave his young life on August 1 1981 and the flags are displayed for a few days either side of this date. The group of men who erect them give this undertaking to Sinn Féin each year and consistently honour it.

Having clarified that, I now wish to set the record straight regarding Gregory Campbell's scurrilous and unfounded accusation about the location of two of these flags in close proximity to Church of Ireland property in the town. He asserts in The Irish News

(August 2) that their erection will be perceived as 'a deliberate attempt to intimidate the minority Protestant population in Dungiven and the surrounding area'.

This is simply untrue and typical of Gregory Campbell and his DUP party's constant vilification of Dungiven in recent months.

The facts are, two flags were wrongly erected close to the Church of Ireland cemetery on Thursday July 31.

On Friday I received a telephone call from a prominent member of the Church of Ireland asking if I could have them removed before Sunday's church service. I told the gentleman, who incidentally is a member of the Dungiven Lodge of the Orange Order, that I would do my utmost to have them removed. I informed him that I was in England and asked him to ring me back in a couple of hours.

Three hours later he phoned me back and I was happy to inform him the flags had willingly been removed and that no offence was initially meant.

He thanked me for my prompt assistance and the conversation was totally amicable. These are the true facts and contrary to Mr Campbell's view, the people in Dungiven respect the presence of all faiths in the area. Indeed they regularly support the local Church of Ireland in any fund raising projects.