Slurry incident at Ballymena’s first Pride ‘had opposite effect’ as organisers celebrate ‘beautiful day’

The organisers of the first Pride parade to take place in Ballymena said suspected attempts to disrupt the event by spraying slurry on the route had “the opposite effect” as crowds gathered to celebrate “a beautiful day”.

Mid and East Antrim (MEA) Pride held its inaugural parade in the Co Antrim town on Saturday, as locals turned out in support of the LGBTQ+ community.

Slurry was sprayed on part of the route the night before the parade, but the incident did not deter those from taking part or spectating.

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Police have arrested two men in their investigation into the incident, which is being treated as a suspected hate crime.

One man, aged 19, has been charged on suspicion of criminal damage, possession of an article with a blade or point and causing material to be deposited on a road.

Another man, aged 20, was arrested on Sunday on suspicion of criminal damage, aiding and abetting criminal damage and causing material to be deposited on a road.

Eilish Boschert, MEA Pride secretary, told The Irish News that the incident had “the opposite effect” of what was allegedly intended, describing the day as an “absolute success”.

“It was better than we ever could have imagined, honestly,” she said.

“We expected support, but the support that we received was just unimaginable, really.

“I saw multiple generations standing together – grannies and grandads with grandchildren, babies in prams holding little pride flags.

“It was just so heartening to see people of all backgrounds - people of all ages, out to support us.”

Ms Boschert added that the incident on Saturday morning was “a minor blip”.

“I don’t know what they thought they were going to achieve – our parade didn’t even start until 2pm,” she said.

“That’s a pedestrianised area that has local businesses on it, so it was really just an inconvenience to the community.

“We were just really grateful for everyone who reported it and who got it cleaned up.”

The march was met by a small group of religious protesters at the town’s bandstand, however the parade continued along its planned route without interruption.

Police maintained a large presence along the route.

“There were four different groups that were there, but the amount of supporters that we had, people who had whistles and flags and noisemakers and music – I could not hear the protesters even a little bit,” Ms Boschert said.

She thanked those who supported the parade, as well as representatives from other Pride groups, community organisations and unions who turned out on the day.