Upwards of fifty people stood in protest at an “anti-illegal immigration” rally in Armagh on Thursday night.
The protest was held at the Kingston Playing Fields.
Police confirmed that a number of their officers attended from 7.30pm until its conclusion at 8.30pm and reported that, unlike several other protests across NI in recent time, the event “passed off peacefully”.
DUP city councillor Scott Armstrong was in attendance.
“People are well within their democratic right to peacefully protest and to have their voices heard. And I will support any peaceful demonstration on this matter,” he said.
“This issue is not isolated to Northern Ireland. We are seeing more and more people in both the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland voicing their concerns over the issues associated with illegal and uncontrolled immigration. They are asking for honest, sensible outcomes and political solutions to fix the broken immigration system.
“I believe it is important to have these discussions, as awkward as they may appear, politicians across the political spectrum need to be open to having these conversations. If we are unable to do so, it is a great disservice to the people we represent.
“I would urge anyone who plans to engage in protest, to do so peacefully and respectfully. Voice your concerns in a legitimate fashion but do so in a measured way. Violence is never the answer, it only detracts from the message you are portraying.”
