Should have added in my first post; seeing houses having to display union jacks on their windows so as not to be attacked by these meatheads was a new low, which is saying something. Echoes of 1930s Nazi Germany.
I don't know ths exact situation in Ballymena over the current issue so cannot comment on the merits of any complaints, but nothing can justify those actions towards families. The knife culture that eastern Europeans took with them to a town not far from me I'm well informed on, so I do get the concerns that locals can have when something abhorrent has been imported, but setting things on fire and terrorising neighbours is not the way to go about things.
It's also deeply embarrassing (as if the backwardness of NI could be any more embarrassing). The Open will be held next month with Rory McIllroy (on the back of completing the four majors) back at home, and you'd hope it does not spill into that. The last time the Open was here the Orange Order were told not to disrupt the event with their marches (which thankfully were ultimately cancelled) and shame us in front of the world; in other words avoid this;
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2019/jul/03/portrush-the-open-championship-orange-parade-northern-ireland-golf
"The William King Memorial band start proceedings, followed in half‑hour slots by the Derryloran Boyne Defenders, Dunloy Accordion, Ballykeel Loyal Sons of Ulster and Moneyslane Flute Band. The Drumderg Loyalists will round things off from 9pm. The Sons of Ulster will then march to an Orange hall. There is naturally a comedic, ludicrous undertone to this in 2019 but when placed on the Open’s doorstep it is a horrendously embarrassing look.
American guests will probably look on with intrigue. What, though, of the thousands of Open fans from the predominantly Catholic Republic of Ireland?
To suggest Orange parades are intrinsically linked to paramilitary behaviour or directly incite violence would be hugely unfair but shows such as this represent a depressing throwback to a Northern Ireland beset by sectarian division.
Twenty-one years on from the Good Friday agreement, loyalists still mark William of Orange’s Boyne victory with anthems and bonfires, many of the latter featuring tricolour flags or effigies of the pope. This is about as far from an epitome of social inclusion as you could find.
It is the Northern Ireland that will not feature on advertising campaigns for one of the world’s biggest sporting events. It does not, either, on the Causeway Coast & Glens borough council’s what’s on guide for July alongside the Open, a maritime festival and food tours. Middle-aged men belting out The Sash does not tend to have a wider resonance. Sky Sports Golf will not deliver a special outside broadcast."