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Police investigate report of sectarian shouts at Poppy Day memorial

Getty Images The cenotaph in Enniskillen on a rainy day, a passer by is to the right of shot with an umbrella and grey coat.Getty Images
The incident took place at Enniskillen's Cenotaph

A report of sectarian shouts during a memorial event to mark the 1987 Enniskillen IRA bombing is being investigated by police.

Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA Diana Armstrong was at the event on Friday and told BBC News NI: "It’s a clear violation of a very sacred moment, it's left a very bad taste.”

The service commemorated the 1987 Poppy Day attack, when an IRA bomb exploded at the County Fermanagh town's cenotaph during a Remembrance Sunday ceremony, killing 12 people.

Eleven people were killed in the bombing and a 12th victim, who slipped into a coma, died 13 years later.

Diana Armstrong holds a clip board, she has light brown hair and wears a white t-shirt under a navy blazer
UUP MLA Diana Armstrong called the incident a 'violation of a sacred moment'

Armstrong, who attended the event, said pro-IRA slogans were shouted by occupants in a car as it drove past mourners at the cenotaph.

She said: “I’ve never seen this happen before at any event in the area, community relations are very good in Enniskillen and always have been.

“With the exception of an incident where the letters ‘IRA’ were graffitied on a wall beside the memorial.

“Guests and family members of the victims were gathered at the cenotaph, when a car drove past and the occupants drove by and shouted the words ‘up the Ra.’

"It's been a real intrusion."

The incident comes ahead of one of Northern Ireland’s main Remembrance Sunday ceremonies, with First Minister Michelle O’Neill set to lay a wreath at the Cenotaph at Belfast City Hall.

O'Neill will become the first senior Sinn Féin figure to take part in an official Remembrance Sunday ceremony in Belfast.

Getty Images A photo of the cenotaph in Enniskillen, behind the statue is a building, wrecked due to an explosion by the IRA. The statue is of a single solider on top of a stone plinth, with a union jack beside it. Getty Images
Twelve people were killed and dozens more injured in the 1987 bomb attack

The Fermanagh South Tyrone MLA said the families and mourners gathered at the cenotaph were affected.

“Families of the victims had to pick up the pieces after a very emotional day, where emotions remained raw.

“People need to know what the chant actually means and the context behind it.”

Deborah Erskine, DUP MLA, was also at the event and told BBC News NI sectarian slogans are used too often.

“The phrase is so commonplace with nationalists and republicans, shouted without any regard for how victims may feel," she said.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said they received a report of sectarian comments shouted while people attended the event in Belmore Street.

"Enquiries are ongoing and anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact police," a PSNI spokesperson said.