John Finlay says he is not surprised that his name was painted on the hall belonging to LOL 694, alongside Continuity IRA and 32-County Sovereignty Committee slogans in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Speaking to the News Letter from Rasharkin, Cllr Finlay said the graffiti on the hall, which has been repeatedly targeted in the past, was the latest in a serious of attacks by republicans in the village over the weekend.

"The previous night (Friday night] they threw paint over the hall, they scratched the paintwork of a car belonging to a Protestant, and they tore flowers from the gardens of Protestant residents," said Mr Finlay.

"And then they came back and wrote these slogans. Obviously they have singled me out in the graffiti on the hall, but I am not at all surprised by that. I have spoken out many times against these attacks in the past and now they have written this about me."

Unbowed by the weekend attacks, the Mayor continued: "I will not be deterred from speaking out about these dissidents, they have nothing to offer. They are putting it up to the Protestant people of Rasharkin, and there is a growing fear here.

"These people have nothing to offer. All they want is to stir up sectarian tensions. In fairness to other political parties – they have been working against this problem, but maybe we need a little more done to stop this.

"Information needs to be given to police about who is behind these attacks. I will also be calling on police to focus more resources, so that arrests can be made and those responsible brought before the courts."