Ballymena and Beyond: Riots Leave Migrant Communities Stunned

By The Gown

The week starting Monday 9th June saw riots evocative of last summer when, following the charge of rape on two Romanian-speaking teenagers two days prior, violence erupted on the streets of Ballymena, with political resentment against migration in general on the rise in Northern Ireland [1].

An overview: from vigil to violence

Prior to the sexual attack committed on the 7th June, police issued a statement on 30th May “regarding claims of a different sexual assault in Ballymena”, concerning the attack of a 13-year-old girl on the 24th May. The suspect was described as “[having] dark-coloured skin, dark brown eyes, and speaking in a foreign language”. [1]. A far-right news aggregator describing Ballymena as “at a boiling point” was indicative of the week to come [1].

The sexual assault on the 7th June saw two 14-year-old boys on the charge of rape of a young girl in Ballymena, speaking through a Romanian interpreter as they pled not guilty [1]. The father of the victim called for peaceful protest in the town centre, which was amplified online [1].

That Monday saw a initially peaceful vigil at 7:30pm walking throughout Ballymena, with police officers present [2]. According to the PSNI’s report in condemnation of the violence that ensued,

“A number of masked individuals then broke away from the vigil and began to build barricades, stockpiling missiles and attacking properties in the Clonavon Terrace area”.

That night alone in Ballymena, 15 police officers were injured as they

“came under sustained attack over a number of hours with multiple petrol bombs, fireworks, heavy masonry and bricks thrown in their direction by masked rioters… Two police vehicles were also damaged during the disorder” [2].

The next night, 300 protestors gathered in the same area, close to where the sexual attack had taken place [3]. An additional 17 officers were injured as violence spread sporadically to Carrickfergus and Newtownabbey.

The 11th June saw violence spread to Coleraine and Larne. By the 12th June, disorder had generally ceased in Ballymena, but continued elsewhere in Co. Antrim – including Belfast, but also Portadown, Co. Armagh, whereby 400 gathered in protest-turned-violent. According to the PSNI, 22 officers were injured in Portadown, where a water cannon was used [7].

Reactions in NI and beyond – condemnations and “howevers…”

NI’s MLAs and MPs condemned the violence. First Minister Michelle O’Neill described the riots as “pure racism”, and stated that “no-one, now or ever, should feel the need to place a sticker on their door to identify their ethnicity just to avoid being targeted” [6]. Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said she was “dismayed” as the events unfolded, and “This disorder and violence must stop and justice be allowed to prevail” [3].

The violence took up a significant political storm of reactions elsewhere, including England. Ireland had similarly saw anti-migrant riots following a mass stabbing committed in Dublin in November 2023, which drew much attention from British press. Perhaps significant in that link is that last summer’s riots following the massacre of three children in Southport saw widespread riots in only two of the UK’s countries; England and Northern Ireland.

Far-right activist Tommy Robinson, known for his encouragement of such riots last July – and released from prison after seven months on charges of contempt of court only two weeks prior to those in Ballymena – was vocal on the riots. Like much of Twitter’s right-wing reactions, much of the discourse concerned the PSNI and the NI government using the riots as a distraction away from the issue of immigration, with Robinson branding the former “imbeciles” on the 10th June [8].

On the controversial side in Northern Ireland politics, while all officeholders expressed condemnation, there was frequently a footnote of “however”, and the oft-said phrase “legitimate concerns”. North Antrim’s MP Jim Allister stated,

“The government must be aware of underlying tensions produced by uncontrolled and often undocumented immigration… None of that excuses violence, but it is a matter of concern to many” [1].

Controversy and the Communities Minister

Indeed, much controversy surrounded Communities Minister Gordon Lyons’ post on Facebook the morning following the second night of violence, on the 11th June. Lyons – an MLA in Antrim – informed the public that migrants, without the DUP council being informed, were “temporarily moved” to Larne Leisure Centre [4].

That evening, Larne Leisure Centre was attacked, with significant vandalism and a fire being caused by a group of mostly youths [4]. While it was being used as an “Emergency rest centre”, no migrants were present there at the time of the attack.

Lyons said “I do not believe I have done anything worthy of an apology” [5] In response to Opposition Leader Matthew O’Toole’s description of his post as “pugilistic”, Lyons stated, “I was making it clear that there was nobody at the leisure centre anymore, which was the reason for the protest in the first place” [5].

Since then, Lyons has been referred to the standards commissioner, and the 9-member Communities committee voted no confidence in his post on the 12th June. The First Minister then called for his resignation, saying “He has failed to show correct leadership and I think that his commentary falls very short and very much strays into the territory of inflaming the situation”, whereas Secretary of State Hilary Benn took a more moderate line, saying that Lyons “might want to reflect on what he has said” [4].

An overview of the spread of violence

In total, there were 81 police officers injured and 36 arrests made in the week following initial violence in Ballymena. Much has been said of violence – particularly among the youth – as being exploitative, both on the issue of migration and in the encouragement of violence (rhetoric exploiting youth). Social media as an incendiary funnel for spreading hate and incitement has been cited continuously; “95%” of the 39,000 Twitter posts mentioning Ballymena and migrants mentioned the latter in a negative light [1].

Like Southport, the riots have certainly appeared to be a tragedy exploded into the height of political heat; “legitimate concerns” as a quotation varies from its propounded meaning of legitimacy, to itself a downplay or worse, encouragement of violence. These riots leave NI’s migrant communities stunned, with fervorous violence seemingly targeting anyone apparently different.

References

[1] Dunford, D., Gibson, F., Santa Cruz, J., Parker, A., (2025). “Why did Ballymena become the latest site of anti-immigration riots?” Sky News, 14 Jun 2025. Available at: https://news.sky.com/story/why-did-ballymena-become-the-latest-site-of-anti-immigration-riots-13383209

[2] PSNI (2025). “Police condemn disorder in Ballymena”. Police Service of Northern Ireland, 10 Jun 2025. Available at: https://www.psni.police.uk/latest-news/police-condemn-disorder-ballymena

[3] Sabri, A., Peden, O., Finnegan, S., (2025). “Six arrests made as trouble spreads across NI on second night of Ballymena violence”. The Belfast Telegraph, 11 Jun 2025. Available at: https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/six-arrests-made-as-trouble-spreads-across-ni-on-second-night-of-ballymena-violence/a1489846008.html

[4] Preston, A. (2025). “First Minister adds to calls for DUP minister Gordon Lyons to resign for ‘inflaming’ tensions over Larne arson attack”. The Irish News, 12 Jun 2025. https://www.irishnews.com/news/northern-ireland/sinn-fein-finance-minister-says-gordon-lyons-failed-to-lead-over-larne-leisure-centre-social-media-post-V3PUH25EOFG7HPJ7HRCU7WP7WA/

[5] Black, R., (2025). “Gordon Lyons on riot social media post row: ‘I do not believe I have done anything worthy of an apology’”. The Irish News, 16 Jun 2025. https://www.irishnews.com/news/northern-ireland/gordo-lyons-on-riot-social-media-post-row-i-do-not-believe-i-have-done-anything-worthy-of-an-apology-XITDMEEFJNDWDC33ZQKIB7IYVU/

[6] BBC News (2025). “Ballymena violence ‘pure racism’ and must stop – O’Neill”. BBC News, 11 Jun 2025. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gr1llj8vlo

[7] PSNI (2025). “Police repeat call for calm as disorder continues with 22 officers injured in Portadown”. Police Service of Northern Ireland, 13 Jun 2025. Available at: https://www.psni.police.uk/latest-news/police-repeat-call-calm-disorder-continues-22-officers-injured-portadown

[8] Robinson. T., (2025). X, 10 Jun 2025. Available at: https://x.com/TRobinsonNewEra/status/1932542772353069549