Condemnation of INLA funeral assembly in dedicated mixed housing estate

Images have circulated online showing the coffin of INLA man James McWilliams draped in an Irish tricolour being carried through the little Felden housing estate.

Felden lies just on the boundary of Newtownabbey and north Belfast, and was built several years ago with the explicit aim of making it a shared neighbourhood.

It is sandwiched between two majority-republican areas; for example in 2012, just a stone’s throw from the entreance of the estate, dissident republicans shot a man dead over a suspected drug dispute.

Designed with government help, Felden’s target was that no more than 70% of its residents would be drawn from any one side of the community, so that it was not dominated by either a unionist or nationalist identity.

In 2016 Clanmil, the association which actually runs it, wrote in the News Letter that the new development offered “a choice for people who wish to live in shared spaces” and would be “a safe space to live and raise families”.

But in the estate’s early days, graffiti was daubed at the entrance saying “Kill All Huns” and “No Prods in Felden”.

Irish tricolours were also flown on lamp-posts all around the entrance in subsequent years.

And in February last year, a viable bomb was found in Felden (though the motive is not clear).

‘POLICE MUST INVESTIGATE’

Images posted on social media by the Irish Republican Socialist Party (the IRSP, linked to the INLA) show McWilliams’ coffin draped in some kind of blue flag arriving in Felden on Monday, flanked by a black-and-white guard of honour.

And then on Thursday, new images emerged showing as similar assembly as it was being taken from the house (still draped in a blue flag, to which a tricolour had been added) en route to a funeral mass at St Peter’s Cathedral, west Belfast, where it was accompanied by mourners in dark sunglasses and full black face coverings.

A tweet was also widely circulated purporting to show that, once the funeral cortege was at St Peter’s cathedral, a gunman beside an INLA flag fired shots over the coffin – although the PSNI has questioned the authenticity of this tweet.

Police query authenticity of gunman at INLA cathedral funeral

Last night, DUP Policing Board member Trevor Clarke said: “The paramilitary trappings surrounding this funeral were clear for everyone to see.

“I await to hear condemnation from representatives in this area whose parties have been very vocal about issues on other shared housing developments.

“I have called on the police to investigate events at this funeral and this must happen.

“There can be no place for the glorification of terrorism in our society and the scenes later, with masked men and weapons on display must be fully investigated by the police.”

The PSNI were contacted last night, and simply re-iterated their earlier statement saying “an evidence gathering operation was in place, and police will now review this to establish if any offences occurred; if any offences are detected, a police investigation will be carried out”.

However, it is not clear if this relates to any activities in Felden, or just to the claims of a gunman at St Peter’s.

‘NO ONE FROM THE NEIGHBOURHOOD HAS COMPLAINED...’

Clanmil, the housing group which runs Felden, said: “The deceased did not live in this development and we had no prior knowledge of the detail of the funeral.

“Whilst over five years ago, before people moved in, there was some sectarian graffiti at the entrance to the scheme, this is now a very settled neighbourhood.

“We continue to work closely with a range of agencies including community and elected representatives, the PSNI and the people who live there, to deliver a good relations programme that ensures it is welcoming for all.

“We held a very successful community event and children’s fun day at the scheme yesterday afternoon that was well supported by tenants.

“None of the people who live at Felden have raised the funeral with us either yesterday on site or today.

“If people do have concerns, we would encourage them to contact the PSNI.”

The News Letter made contact with the IRSP, to ask in particular about whether shots had indeed been fired outside St Peter’s cathedral.

The response came: “This is the page of the IRSP, a registered political party.

“As for the claimed gun shots, that would be a matter for an assumed group outside of the IRSP, so we cannot accurately comment.

“James McWilliams was a member of the IRSP and his funeral was organised to commemorate that of a Republican Socialist in the most fitting way possible.”

MORE FROM THIS REPORTER:

Government hiring ‘permanent’ high-paid civil servants to handle NI Protocol

New giant block of flats – taller than the Europa – planned for Belfast

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.