FOUR MEN appeared in court in Ballymena yesterday charged with public order offences following loyalist protests outside a Catholic church in Ballymena, Co Antrim.
Three were given bail and the fourth was remanded in custody at a special sitting of the town's magistrates' court.
A further six men are due in court in Belfast today to face charges linked with an attack on a Catholic house in the town. Two teenagers were questioned about damage caused to a Catholic school.
The three men given bail yesterday - Mr Mark Curry (31) and Mr Daniel Gilmore (20), from Ballymena, and Mr Shane Moody (24), from Ballymoney - were all charged with disorderly behaviour. Mr Moody was also accused of assaulting a police officer.
The fourth, Mr Jason Laverty (19), from Ballymena, was remanded in custody charged with disorderly behaviour and wearing a cap and scarf to conceal his identity.
The six men due to appear before magistrates in Belfast today have been charged with an attack on a Catholic home in Ballymena on Thursday in which three people were assaulted.