Complaints that apolitical nature of Oul Lammas Fair tarnished with political flags and slogans

Visitors to the Ballycastle fair also complained that tricolour balaclavas – made famous by Irish republican band Kneecap - were on sale from stalls, according to a local councillor.

Ireland’s oldest traditional fair ran in Ballycastle from Saturday until Tuesday.

The 400-year-old fair – which originally formed around horse and livestock trading – is famed for its festive spirit, transforming the picturesque seaside town with hundreds of stalls lining the streets, live music, buskers and entertainment.

Councillor Allister Kyle, 36, has attended the fair every year since he was a child.

However this is the first time he has ever seen it politicised.

"It was disappointing that on some of the stalls they were selling tricolor balaclavas, and that flags had been put up in support of Palestinians and graffiti in the town showing support for Palestinians and against Israel," said the TUV councillor

"The Oul Lammas Fair is usually apolitical and certainly all faiths and creeds come and have a great time.

"But I have had a number of complaints about the Palestinian flags, particularly around the harbor, and graffiti that has been put on council hoardings outside where the amusements used to be.

"I've put a complaint into the council about the graffiti and although some of it not linked to the situation in the Middle East was removed, the references to the Middle East conflict were left alone."

"So the council are currently looking into that, because the hoardings are certainly on council property.

"We're currently also looking into whether there's been breaches of license there with these tricolor balaclavas being sold by traders."

He said some graffiti that was attacking individual council officers had been removed but other graffitti in the same style - about Gaza - had been left untouched.

Mr Kyle asked the council if it had removed graffiti about officials but left the comments about the Middle East.

However he said the official he spoke with did not know and was to come back to him with a response.

The councillor said the graffiti linked the UK government and Israel to genocide and cited figures of the numbers of civilians and children reportedly killed in Gaza.

The council declined to make any comment about his claims.

"I find it to be disappointing that on the biggest weekend of the year in Ballycastle and with graffiti on their property they have no comment to make," the councillor told the News Letter.

TUV leader and North Antrim MP Jim Allister also expressed concern.

"The Auld Lammas Fair is supposed to be for everyone. So sad to have Ballycastle disfigured by Palestinian and Irish tricolours,” he said on social media.

Thousands of people attended the fair on Bank Holiday Monday, as temperatures soared.

​Brian McLister, a shop owner who has been involved with the area's Chamber of Commerce for 45 years, and its president for the last two, said the crowds this year were as large as ever.

“I'm standing at the seafront now looking at the Quay Road and it is bunged,” he said. “There are tens of thousands of people here.”