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Irish Cenotaph to WWI dead attacked days after council votes against memorial to Easter Rising

A CENOTAPH to those who died in World War I was attacked in the days following a council vote against a memorial to the Easter Rising.

According to the PSNI, it's believed the attack happened between Wednesday evening December 6 and Thursday December 7 at the Cenotaph in the Church Road area of Larne in Co Antrim.

Investigating the incident, Constable Davison said the incident is being treated as a hate-crime.

The attack came shortly after Mid and East Antrim Borough Council voted against replacing an Easter Rising memorial in Carnlough on Monday evening.

The original memorial was removed by contractors last June.

Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime. (Picture: PSNI)

According to the Larne Times, DUP councillor Gregg McKeen said he believed the attack was a "direct result" of the council's decision on Monday evening.

"This is a despicable act which desecrates the memory of those who fought and died from both sides of the community," he added. "These people are just trying to stir up tensions in the area."

However, former Sinn Fein MLA Oliver McMullan said: "I totally condemn the attack on the war memorial; I don't know how anyone could stoop so low as to attack it.

"It is sacrosanct and should be left alone.

"But these comments [by Cllr McKeen] only add to the division between nationalist and unionist people in Larne.

"If the council had taken on board the feelings of people in Carnlough, they would not have rushed through that decision on Monday night."