SINN Féin councillor Ronan McLaughlin has called for a full investigation after damage was caused to the statue of Mary Ann McCracken at Belfast City Hall.
Responding to the vandalism, Councillor McLaughlin said: “It is disgraceful that the statue of Mary Ann McCracken has targeted and damaged.
“Even more concerning is that the damage appears to have been aimed specifically at the section inscribed as Gaeilge.
“This statue stands proudly at City Hall in memory of a remarkable anti-slavery campaigner and Irish republican.
The statue in the grounds of Belfast City Hall
“I have spoken with council officials and called for a full investigation into the damage. I have also asked that the matter be referred to the PSNI."
SDLP Councillor Gary McKeown added: "The vandalism of the Mary Ann McCracken statue is disgusting and will appall people right across Belfast and beyond. It's really important that this is fully investigated and I have spoken to the council to ask that the signage is fixed as soon as possible.
"Belfast has an embarrassingly low number of statues dedicated to women, so the unveiling of this one in the grounds of City Hall last year was particularly welcome and I was delighted to be in attendance. This makes it all the more shocking that it appears that someone has attacked it. It's also notable that it was an Irish language inspection on the statue that was targeted, showing even more intolerance.
"Mary Ann was an inspirational figure whose contribution to our city still resonates to this day, particularly around her work as a social reformer and opponent of slavery. The principles she stood for remain relevant two centuries later."
Mary Ann McCraken was an abolitionist and social reformer whose political activism began with the United Irishmen. Born in Belfast in 1760 into a prominent liberal Presbyterian family, her brother Henry Joy McCracken was hanged in High Street in July 1798 for his part in leading an attack on Antrim town during the rebellion of that year.
Last March, statues of Mary Ann McCracken and Winnie Carney, an Irish suffragist, trade unionist and advocate of Irish independence, were unveiled in the grounds of Belfast City Hall.
