SEPTEMBER’S meeting of Belfast City Council got off to a positive start with members agreeing to name a bridge in South Belfast after Noah Donohoe.

Council then went into private session for a lengthy period while councillors discussed non-recurring funding allocations.

Upon returning to public session, things got heated when DUP Alderman Frank McCoubrey raised the issue of the Wolfe Tones performance at Féile an Phobail.

Responding to his remarks, Sinn Féin councillor Ciaran Beattie said: “Féile an Phobail attracts tens of thousands of people from across the island and across the world.

“The Wolfe Tones play around the world from Australia, the USA to London, Birmingham to Manchester, all over England, Scotland and Wales but there are never any issues.

“They have been in existence for about 50 years, they are now in their 70s and they pack out halls across the world and there are no issues but when they come to West Belfast, particularly from the DUP.

Cllr Beattie accused the DUP of ignoring the bigger picture and said that the party ignore other events such as Orange parades where others show tolerance and that they cannot understand that there are other traditions within the city.

“It goes back to when this City Hall was the bastion of unionism, when they were the supreme, when they had whole control and they done what they wanted,” he continued. “Times have changed and this city is much more diverse.

“We can’t pick one culture or another. We have to respect each other’s and if we can’t respect each other’s, then you can’t expect others to respect yours.”

Alliance Party group leader Cllr Michael Long described the concert as “a depressing moving on of perceptions to the next generation". 

“The rest of Féile is an event which is fantastic. It brings lots of people to our city and encourages young people to get involved in a more positive way,” he said.

The SDLPs Carl Whyte added: “It is hard to take lessons from the DUP on what we need to do to tackle sectarianism and segregation in Northern Ireland.

“The criticism of one event at Féile does not mean criticism of the Féile. We know the reasons why Féile came about. I grew up in West Belfast through the '80s and I remember as a child in August being taken away on holidays to avoid that trouble.

“I have had family who were interned in the 1970s and in the 1950s for their beliefs. It wasn’t justified, there is no excuse.

“I consider myself as republican. I want to see a united Ireland.”

Cllr Whyte said that through his time on Council, he has learned of what is important to unionists and called on unionists to respect the aspirations of nationalists.

“That chant that was done by that band that night belongs in the past,” he continued.

“If we are serious, it doesn’t matter if certain bands play in London or Glasgow or wherever, I am talking about Belfast, I am talking about my city which I want to see as the second city in this agreed Ireland. I don’t want people singing chants like that.”

Green Party councillor Brian Smyth recalled how he was at the bonfire on the night that Seamus Duffy was murdered by the RUC and said that he recognises the incredible work that Féile does but said that he has a problem with the Wolfe Tones performing on the last night.

People Before Profit’s Michael Collins said: “It is as if the DUP only became aware of the existence of sectarianism and seems to believe that it begins and ends with festival goers at the Falls Park.”

Cllr Collins called out what he described as “rank hypocrisy” from the DUP and said that they “actively stoke the flames of sectarianism when it suits them". 

The UUP’s Alderman Sonia Copeland described Cllr Ciaran Beattie’s remarks as “quite frightening and shameful”.

Green Party councillor Mal O’Hara raised the issue of the new Ulster University campus opening in a few weeks and the potential for traffic chaos before calling on council to meet with the University and the Permanent Secretary in the Department for Infrastructure.

Elsewhere, Cllr O’Hara proposed that Council initiate dialogue with the Department for Infrastructure, Department for Communities and the Northern Ireland Local Government Association to commence the process of devolving transport powers to the council.

Cllr Caoimhín McCann criticised the wording of the motion and said that it lacked detail on to what extent powers would be devolved. The SDLP’s Gary McKeown said spoke in favour of the motion and spoke of how he often has difficulty dealing with the Department for Infrastructure.

Cllr Michael Collins noted the positive aspects of the motion and spoke of the lack of interconnectivity when it comes to bus services in West Belfast which he said is impacting on schools as pupils sometimes have to get multiple busses to complete their journey.

The motion fell with votes 21 for and 35 against.

The meeting ended with Cllr Conor Maskey proposing that the Lord Mayor invite the NI Commonwealth Games team and the Northern Ireland Women’s soccer team to City Hall and to also conduct a review into female sport provision across the city which was referred to the next People and Communities committee.