South Belfast festival in public park to be reviewed after SDLP claim that event is political

At the full monthly meeting of Belfast City Council on Monday, a request by the Finaghy Cultural Festival to hold an event at Wedderburn Park on Friday 16 August was held up after SDLP Balmoral Councillor Donal Lyons proposed a review.

He said the delay was for “comfort and clarification” on the nature of the event.

Councillor Lyons told the chamber: “In the report it says this event has taken place over the last couple of years without issues. That is not true. I have raised a number of issues over a number of years about this event.

“There are more than the usual issues when you have people drinking and carrying on, or the playing of what I believe is called “Blood and Thunder” music till eight o’clock at night. Or the accompanying band parade which marches through Finaghy Road South.

“It is more the issue I have raised at committee before about this, which is that we don’t actually know what this event really is. And it goes back to previous years when we have agreed to the facilitation and to some extent the funding for a cultural event, but then it has been advertised in a very different and a political way subsequently in the community.

“It is something which has caused concern within the Finaghy community, which while it has many different strands, there is only one community in Finaghy. I do think we need to get more comfort and clarification about what is taking place at this event.”

Councillor Lyons also referred to a recent suspected hate crime in the Finaghy area, in which police are investigating the daubing of sinister graffiti at the home of resident and support worker for the African and Caribbean Support Organisation.

He said: “I absolutely agree (with the Lord Mayor) – when the two sides are a gentleman who is trying to give back to the community and work for the betterment of everyone in Belfast, and the other side are nameless cowards who creep around at night attacking family homes, I’m pretty clear I know which side I am on.”

DUP Councillor Sarah Bunting said the proposal was “electioneering.” She said: “This event has taken place twice now. There have been no issues. There was one complaint in the first year, which was about one person who had nothing to do with the event.

“Council officers have received all paperwork when requested, and everything requested by this council in order to hold this event in this park has been received on time. Council officers have visited this event.

“To (mention) a band parade which has nothing to do with this event, which happens every year regardless of whether this event takes place or not, is obviously just trying to score points."

The council’s People and Communities Committee report from last month states: “Finaghy Cultural Festival is organised by a small group of local people from the community, who started out through the first lockdown back in March 2020 as a food bank helping the elderly and vulnerable through very difficult times.

“They then started up a residents group volunteering and organizing events for the community. They will have a bar serving alcohol so a drinks license will be in place. The committee have had meetings with their local community, police and have been awarded funding to run the event.

“Activities throughout the day include live music, food vendors, amusement and fairground rides. The group also plans on having a barbeque on site. This event has taken place in previous years with no issues.”

The Chief Executive John Walsh said he had no specific knowledge of the event and said it would have to return to committee for a briefing to take place.

Councillor Lyons said: “If I can help jog people’s memories, the first instance I would draw people’s attention to is about how the event which was proposed and described to the council did not match the material that prior to the committee had been distributed.

“(That material was distributed) in the thousands across Finaghy and made clear it was very much a political event, tied in that year to the centenary of Northern Ireland.”

A proposal to review the event at the council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee on April 19 went to a recorded vote. It was passed with 39 votes in support from Sinn Féin, Alliance, the SDLP and the Green Party, and received 14 votes objecting to the proposal, from the DUP, the UUP, and TUV.

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