6:48 am, August 20, 2022
A dealership group in Northern Ireland has suspended an employee who is believed to have made a republican posting at a festival.
The Agnew Group worker is said to have made the social media posting at last weekend’s West Belfast Festival, reported The News Letter, although according to Belfast Live they were suspended for singing a pro-IRA song, with a video of it circulating on social media.
The group – which has 15 dealerships across Belfast, Newtownabbey and Portadown, representing nine brands – wouldn’t confirm the gender of the employee or what was in the post.
However, on Thursday (Aug 18) it put out a statement on social media saying it didn’t condone any sectarian or discriminatory behaviour and said: ‘The individual concerned has been suspended pending further investigation.’
It also emphasised that the Agnew Group was ‘an inclusive organisation employing people from all sections of the local community’.
The dealership chain added ‘this content on social media does not reflect our company or our values.’
The festival is also known as Feile an Phobail and began in 1988, with its founders including ex-republican prisoner and Sinn Fein publicity director Danny Morrison.
He said its aim was ‘to raise the morale of people who were demonised by both government and mainstream political parties and called savages’.
Picture: A man walks past a banner for Feile an Phobail, also known as the West Belfast Festival, in the Falls Park (PA)
