A “grave” intimidation attempt occurred at a Belfast sports field used by East Belfast GAA, when children as young as five were participating in their GAA club training. The suspicious object found on the Henry Jones playing fields during midday on Sunday prompted the police to conduct searches, leading to the temporary closure of the council-owned pitch located in Castlereagh, on the fringes of the city.
The club, which was established in 2020, has been subjected to numerous attacks, including an incident involving a pipe bomb hidden in a bin near the field during its initial training sessions. Owing to these incidents, the club is currently one of the largest in Ulster with more than 600 active participants, including over 200 children. Sunday’s events interrupted a busy schedule that included morning training for five to 14-year-old boys and girls, and an afternoon match involving the club’s female players against a Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) team.
Over the summer, a hate crime investigation was sparked by an apparent arson attack on the club’s nets, which coincided with a hoax bomb scare causing the pitch to close again in May. A significant number of club members come from a Protestant background, located in a region that used to be an influential unionist area.
Following the recent incident, SDLP Councillor Séamas de Faoite denounced the intimidation attempt, expressing his belief that the incident would only bolster support for the East Belfast GAA club, which continues to grow stronger. He emphasised that those responsible for such a sinister act against one of the island’s most diverse GAA clubs and the entire community of East Belfast seeking to live peacefully will not be successful.
The scare preceded the start of campaigning for the forthcoming Westminster elections slated for 4th July.
In the period leading up to the local council elections in Northern Ireland last May, remarks by a Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) hopeful, Anne Smyth, incited a controversy. She justified the cancellation of a trial GAA session at a primary school in East Belfast because she believed the GAA to be sectarian. Despite failing to secure a position in the staunchly unionist party, Smyth voiced fears of “GAA expansionism” in the context of the Henry Jones playing fields and chided Linda Ervine, previously an honorary president for East Belfast GAA, for her campaign encouraging east Belfast residents to learn the Irish language.
Peter McReynolds, Alliance Party MLA for the area, spoke out on Sunday, stating that those responsible for the most recent security threat, showed no consideration for the community and did not represent the citizens of East Belfast. He lauded East Belfast GAA, praising their work in uniting people via sport as a positive achievement that should be recognised and propagated. However, he also addressed the continual stream of threats and security warnings that the club has faced. McReynolds called for those with any information about this security warning to promptly alert the police.
Meanwhile, Gavin Robinson, the interim leader of the DUP party and East Belfast MP, labelled the incident “senseless” in a social media update. He stated his conversation with the police and expressed gratitude to the affected community for their patience.