Boulder used to break window of Orange Hall
An Orange hall in Cookstown has been damaged following an overnight attack.
A boulder was thrown through a window of Cookstown District Hall, based in the Fairhill area of the Tyrone town. The building has only recently undergone renovation.
It is believed the crime happened late on Monday night or during the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Cookstown District spokesman, Trevor Wilson, condemned the actions of the perpetrators and questioned the motives of those responsible for the attack.
He said: “This is an attack not only on the Orange Institution but on the entire population of Cookstown, who use the hall as a facility for a range of community activities. Those responsible should be embarrassed by their actions, which are not reflective in any way whatsoever of the excellent neighbourly relations in the town.”
A Grand Lodge spokesman called for greater police resources to counter the ongoing sectarian attacks on Orange halls across the Province.
The Cookstown incident is the seventeenth reported attack on Orange property so far this year, and the second within the space of a fortnight.
On Halloween night, paint was thrown over the front wall of Drummurry Orange hall in Ballinamallard, Co Fermanagh.
DUP Mid Ulster MLA Ian McCrea has condemned the attack and deemed those responsible “senseless thugs”.
“This attack is made even more sickening by the fact that the hall had only recently completed extensive refurbishment works and I can only describe those responsible as senseless thugs.
“I trust that the decent people of this area will come forward to the police with any information and help prosecute those responsible for this sectarian attack.”
