East Belfast GAA club security alert linked to two others
- Published
Police are at the scene at Henry Jones playing fields
Two security alerts in Belfast are being linked to another alert on Wednesday night at playing fields being used by a GAA club.
Alerts in Strandtown in east Belfast and in Mayfield Square, in the Blacks Road area of west Belfast, have ended.
They followed a telephone warning on Wednesday night that devices had been left at Henry Jones playing fields in east Belfast.
East Belfast GAC had been training at the playing fields.
Ch Supt Jonathan Roberts said police had gone to the Henry Jones playing fields, on the Church Road in east Belfast on Thursday.
"This follows a security alert at the facility last night when a telephoned warning indicated a number of devices had been left in the area," he said.
"Police carried out a search of the area, based on the information received and nothing was found."
He said police believe the alerts at Mayfield Square and at Strandtown were connected to Wednesday night's incident.
"We are urging anyone who was training with East Belfast GAA club or anyone else who had a parked vehicle at the playing fields or surrounding area to check on and around their vehicle and report anything suspicious immediately to police."
East Belfast GAC was founded at the end of May and is the first GAA club in the east of the city in almost 50 years.
'Attempt to intimidate'
East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson condemned those behind the security alert, saying "there can be no place for any kind of threat or intimidation in our society".
"Those behind this alert are in no way representative of the people of east Belfast or wider Northern Ireland," said the DUP representative.
"This would appear to be a clear attempt to intimidate those using the playing fields, in particular East Belfast GAA who were training there last night," he said.
"This must be condemned by everyone and without reservation."
SDLP councillor Séamas de Faoite said it was an "appalling attempt to intimidate East Belfast GAA".
"No team should feel threatened by those who seek to deny that the GAA can be just as much a part of the character and spirit of east Belfast as any other sport," he said.
Alliance councillor Eric Hanvey said the security alert was an "absolute disgrace".
"Those behind security alerts such as these are clearly not interested in something so positive, but rather only division and destruction," he said.