Orange halls serve everyone

“I urge those attacking Orange Halls to think about what they are doing, because Orange halls are used all over the country for a lot of things. They are also used by both sides of the community and are open to all groups.

“Eglinton Orange Hall, for example, is hired out for birthday parties, or dances and other social function. Playschools also use it and over the years Orange halls have been used for voting stations and they have been used for courts - especially in Donegal,” he said.

Statistics show that there were 186 attack on Orange halls in the past three years, and that three times as many Orange halls compared to church buildings were targeted in the past year, with 68 attacks on Orange halls compared to 24 on churches.

In the most recent attack at Kirkpatrick Memorial Hall in Beragh, last month, the hall was damaged by fire.

Commenting on the figures, a spokesman for the Orange Order said the institution was facing an “upsurge” in targeted attacks on its property.

Condemning those guilty of attacking the halls as “mindless people who don’t play a positive part in community life,” Mr Wray said they took away the rights of people who chose to live in harmony within their community. He also noted that more could be done by the Orange Order to improve people’s perceptions of the Orange Order.

“I think we have to have a greater coming together of the communities and I also think given the proximity of the UK City of Culture celebrations that we need to be bringing both sides of the community in and including both sides in the City of Culture.”

Urging anyone with information to go to the police, he said: “Every time there is an attack artefacts in the halls are damaged as well, like banners, portraits and items are dedicated to people’s memory. These cannot be replaced.”

“Retaliation is not how to deal with these attacks,” he said, adding: “The Orange Order has always said that giving information to the police which allows culprits to be apprehended and taken to court is the only way forward.”

A spokesman for the Orange Order said: “No one should be in any doubt that these attacks are a direct attack on our culture. There is, clearly, a small number of people in our community who are not prepared to live side-by-side with Orangemen and their families.”