Dunclug Gardens mixed not 'nationalist': Dunlop

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 16th Aug 2005

Ballymena Alliance representative, Jayne Dunlop, has spoken out against the sweeping generalisation made on some televisions reports which labelled

Dunclug Gardens a 'nationalist estate'.

Jayne Dunlop said: "This estate has always been mixed and the label 'nationalist' is erroneous. There have been some minor shifts over the last few years, with a small rise in residents from a nationalist background and a small drop in those from a protestant background, but not enough of a shift to remove the mixed nature of the estate.

"Giving the estate a 'nationalist' label alienates residents from other backgrounds and increases the sense of sectarian division in the town.

"Whatever the perceived nature of the estate or the label given to it, the recent destruction of cars and violence against police and fire crews was outrageous. The majority of people in the estate want to get on with their lives in peace, and don't want anything to do with such lawlessness."

ENDS