East Belfast GAA 'horrified and angered' by alert

East Belfast GAA was set up in May 2020

Members of East Belfast Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) are horrified and angered following a security alert at playing fields used by the club, its chairwoman has said.

The area where her club plays is used by different sections of the community, Kimberly Robertson added.

The alert has been widely condemned by politicians.

It resulted in the closure of nearby Lough View Integrated Primary School and Nursery on Tuesday.

"It's something that we have dealt with in the past. We thought those days were over," she told BBC News NI.

BBC News NI understands the alert was prompted by a note left at the gates of the council-run Henry Jones playing fields on the outskirts of east Belfast.

A police spokesperson said: "Police received information concerning the pitches and took proactive steps to ensure the area was safe."

The security operation began on Monday evening and police and Army technical officers were deployed to the scene.

Members of the public were asked to avoid the area and road closures were put in place.

Later, officers said they had found "nothing untoward".

There was a large police presence in the area on Tuesday

'Specifically geared towards us'

East Belfast GAA started in May 2020 and was the first GAA club in the east of the city in almost 50 years. It fields football, hurling and camogie teams.

Ms Robertson said her "stomach just sank" when she received a phone call informing her of the security alert.

Panic for her team members and the wider public soon turned to "horrified anger".

A security alert was sparked at the same playing fields in 2020 and Ms Robertson said the club is frustrated to be "still dealing with this".

"It's 2023, we never imagined that people would be putting bombs on our pitches, or at least threatening to.

"From what I was told by the authorities and by people who were there was that it was very specifically geared towards us," she added.

East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson was one of many politicians who criticised those behind the alert.

"Sport cancelled. Community disrupted. School closed. For what? Catch a grip," the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP tweeted.

Alliance Party leader and East Belfast assembly member Naomi Long said that the situation was "utterly unacceptable".

Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie said: "This is wrong and must be condemned utterly."

The SDLP's Séamas de Faoite described the alert as an "utter disgrace".

'Put our members at risk'

Kimberly Robertson also criticised Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) council candidate Anne Smyth for a statement released on social media last week.

She said comments about the club's former president, Linda Ervine, who also runs Irish language classes, were "unnecessary".

"Anne Smyth was running as a councillor in my constituency, in Titanic, so it was very uncomfortable to see some of those comments made not only towards us but towards Linda," Ms Robertson said.

In the statement Ms Smyth expressed "GAA expansionism concerns" surrounding the Henry Jones playing fields and criticised Ms Ervine "for her attempts to persuade east Belfast people to learn Gaelic".

"Anne's comments were unnecessary and they were inflammatory, in our opinion, they put our members at risk," Ms Robertson continued.

A TUV spokesman said the party condemned the security alert.

"The good folk of east Belfast do not need or want such incidents and we would urge anyone with information to come forward to the PSNI," he said.

"Anne Smyth's comments are a completely different matter and related to how the use of playing fields had been gifted by a Sinn Féin dominated City Council to the detriment of other sports," he added.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) told BBC News NI it was aware of the social media post and was looking at the content.

In a statement, Belfast City Council said four existing grass pitches Henry Jones were being reconfigured to create "one soccer pitch and one GAA pitch".

It added that "extensive engagement has taken place as directed and the pitches at Henry Jones Playing Fields are currently being used for both soccer and GAA bookings".

"Where bookings from any sporting discipline cannot be facilitated at this site, staff are continuing to work with clubs to help them secure space at other council-owned facilities, including nearby alternatives at Cherryvale, Victoria Park and Blanchflower Park."