Prominent cleric against ‘Brexit’ targeted by vandals

A campaigning Northern Ireland priest, most recently known for his public arguments against a hard border in the wake of Britain’s ‘Brexit’ vote, has suffered a serious vandal attack on his home in Co. Fermanagh.

The parochial house of Fr Joe McVeigh in Lisbellaw, in the parish of Enniskillen, was targeted on November 13 in an attack that saw the house’s ground-floor windows smashed.

Speaking to The Irish Catholic after the incident, Fr McVeigh said the incident “was not simply random” as not only had the attackers waited until he had left – for a period of just four hours during the day – but had clearly used some large implement to destroy heavy double-glazed windows. “It wasn’t just children,” he said.

Seeking a reason behind the attack, Fr McVeigh admitted he was “at a loss”, though he is very well known for his social justice campaigning and has been both supportive of the North’s Remain vote during Brexit and vocal against suggestions of the creation of a hard border between North and South.

Since the November 13 attack, Fr McVeigh said, members of his own parish have been joined by the local Church of Ireland bishop and dean in extending messages of support to him, a measure, he said of “the good relations that exist here”.

“Sadly,” he added, “there is always an element which is not happy with the way things are going.”

Stating that he is now unsure about his future in the parochial house, Fr McVeigh nevertheless insisted that “I will remain in the parish, which is a nice place where I am happy”. On his campaigning ministry, he further vowed, “I will continue to speak out on issues I believe in, on justice and fair play.”

The Police Service of Northern Ireland is investigating the attack as a sectarian hate crime.