Dungiven: GAA club angered by masked gang entering clubhouse

In a statement on Sunday, the club said it was "extremely angry and shocked" by the incident

A GAA club has condemned a masked gang which entered its clubhouse while 100 children and their parents were attending an underage presentation.

The gang, including one person reportedly armed with a gun, threatened people in several premises in Dungiven, County Londonderry, on Friday evening.

The first incident happened at St Canice's GAC on Friday evening.

In a statement, the club's management team said it was "extremely angry and shocked" by what happened.

The club stands against any form of criminality and would not tolerate any such activity at its premises, it added.

"This type of threat by masked men entering our premises is deplorable and of days gone by," the statement said.

"There is no need for this type of behaviour in a society that's looking to move beyond what happened in our past."

'Claiming to represent the IRA'

Police said they received reports that the masked gang also went to four local bars in Dungiven sometime between 19:15 and 19:20, "claiming to represent the IRA, and threatened people inside".

"We know that the bars were heavily populated and detectives are keen to speak with anyone who was in any of the bars at the time," police added.

A 58-year-old man has been charged over the incident and is due to appear at Antrim Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.