The Barron Hall, the Orange Order’s ceremonial arch and properties at the entrance to the Harmin estate on Hightown Road were all painted with republican slogans.

The attack at the Barron Hall, which is home to the Community Relations Forum, Newtownabbey Senior Citizens’ Forum and several other organisations, took place just hours before the cross-community facility was due to host a special event organised as part of the Healing Through Remembering group’s annual Day of Private Reflection.

“When I arrived on Saturday morning and saw Continuity IRA and Kill All Huns sprayed on the front door I was disappointed and a bit downheartened,” said Kathy Wolff of the Community Relations Forum. “What a thing to come in to on a day of private reflection for peace.”

Buoyed by a visit from Parish Priest Fr Dan Whyte, who called in to the hall on Saturday morning to condemn the graffiti attack and offer his support, Ms Wolff stressed that the Forum will not be deterred from carrying out its cross-community work.

“This is a place for everyone to come to regardless of their race, creed, colour or religion. It is a place where everyone is welcome. We are doing good work here and we will continue doing that good work. This hasn’t put us off, in fact it has made us more determined. We will continue our work to make Glengormley a safer place and a shared place for everyone,” she added.

Glengormley councillor Nigel Hamilton condemned those behind the graffiti attack as “thugs”.

“The Barron Hall is used by the Community Relations Forum which does excellent work in bringing all members of the community together without prejudice. For this type of crime to be committed on these premises shows the narrow-mindedness of some thugs that are still present in our community.”

During their graffiti spree, the vandals also targeted the Orange arch in the town centre, painting KAH (Kill All Huns) and CIRA on the structure and removing a number of flags. The incident came just a few days before the Orange Order’s annual ‘Mini Twelfth’ parade.

Carnmoney District Master, Albert Steele, commented: “The arch was only up three days before they had a go at it. They’re just trying to heighten tensions ahead of the parade.

“This is part of an ongoing campaign by republicans to ethnically cleanse the Orange culture out of Glengormley.”

Reflecting on the latest in a long line of attacks on the arch over recent years, Mr Steele questioned the effectiveness of Glengormley’s CCTV system, describing it as “useless” and “a waste of ratepayers’ money.” He has vowed to raise the issue of an apparent lack of police resources in the area with Newtownabbey District Policing Partnership.

A PSNI spokesperson confirmed that investigations into the graffiti attacks, which took place in the early hours of Saturday morning, are ongoing and appealed for anyone with information to come forward.