Walker’s Plinth targeted in sectarian attack

A historic monument on Londonderry’s Walls has been damaged by paint in what police are treating as a sectarian hate crime.

The attack on Walker’s Plinth happened sometime between 18:20 and 18:40 BST on Thursday.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) a number of individuals are believed to have been involved.

It is the latest in a series of incidents in the city over recent days, which are being investigated as sectarian hate crimes.

Democratic Unionist Party MLA Gary Middleton has said the spate of attacks needs to stop.

“The sectarianism happening right across this city needs to end,” he told BBC Radio Foyle’s North West Today programme.

“As I said in the assembly chamber on Monday, this will ultimately end in somebody being seriously injured or a death.”

The attack on the plinth comes after an assault on two teenagers in the Waterside, an attack on a bus in the Gobnascale area and an attack on a mural in the Fountain estate.

Those incidents sparked calls from the Catholic Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown and Church of Ireland Bishop of Derry and Raphoe Andrew Forster for no further escalation.

The SDLP MLA Mark H. Durkan said he was “sickened” by the attack on the teenagers and Sinn Fein councillor Christopher Jackson appealed for calm.

Then, shortly after midnight on Monday, a 21-year-old autistic man was set upon by a group of men in the city’s Waterside and needed hospital treatment for his injuries.

“We have seen young people attacked, property damaged, that is something that just can not be tolerated, it is important that all of us collectively speak out,” Middleton added.

“Police have assured me they are putting in the resources necessary to try and address what has been unfortunately over the last number of days a sectarian campaign right across the board.”

The city’s deputy Mayor Darren Guy works in the Siege Museum near the plinth.

He told BBC Radio Foyle a video being circulated on social media appeared to show six or seven youths approaching the monument with bottles filled with paint.

The Ulster Unionist councillor also called for an end to the attacks.

“This has to stop,” he said. “When sides goad each other, no one comes out a winner, something serious is going to happen.”

Police have appealed for anyone with information about the incident on the Walls to come forward.

The plinth is located on an area of the Walls overlooking the nationalist Bogside.

It is all that remains of the statue of George Walker, built in 1826 to commemorate his role in the Siege of Derry.

Reverend Walker governed the city during the 1689 siege.

The statue stood on the plinth for almost 150 years until it was blown up by the IRA in 1973.

It was also targeted in a similar attack in July 2024.