Both nationalist and unionist politicians have condemned the bombing of a pub in Antrim in which six people died in a gun attack in 1976. The dissident loyalist paramilitary group, the Orange Volunteers, have admitted responsibility for the latest attack on the Ramble Inn.
A pipe bomb exploded outside the premises around 11 p.m. on Wednesday night. Customers did not hear the device explode and it was only when they discovered that cars outside had been damaged that they realised what had happened. It is understood that the motive was sectarian.
British army bomb experts removed a number of items for forensic examination. Sinn Fein representative Mr Martin Meehan said it was only good fortune that nobody was killed or seriously injured. "Nationalists in the South Antrim area are being targeted by these loyalist groups on an almost daily basis," he said.
Mr Meehan urged local nationalists to be vigilant and called on the Ulster Unionist Party to "support, defend and implement' the Belfast Agreement "in the face of these attacks". SDLP councillor Mr Oran Keenan said the bomb would bring back memories of the 1976 attack. "This will bring back a lot of hurt for the people in the area who lost so many loved ones then," he said.
The UUP chief whip and South Antrim Assembly member, Mr Jim Wilson, said those responsible had nothing to offer Northern Ireland. "The Ramble Inn is a place where people from both sides of the community come to meet and relax. It's sad to think there are groups out there hell-bent on destruction and hate."
The Workers' Party denounced the Orange Volunteers as "sectarian gangsters". Its Northern secretary, Mr Tommy Owens, said: "These thugs filled with hatred and evil wish to destroy the hopes and aspirations of the vast majority of our citizens for a peaceful and prosperous Northern Ireland."