Mother speaks out

She said her son - a Catholic - was beaten up by a gang of Protestant youths in the park during the summer.

And she’s claiming some of the same people were involved in last Saturday’s brawl during which one teenager was left fighting for his life.

The 14-year-old’s plight was detailed in last week’s ‘MAIL’ along with a report on the sectarian violence.

She told the ‘MAIL’: “It’s terrible that a 14-year-old Protestant boy was assaulted last Saturday night. It’s sickening that our past cannot stay in the past. But the truth needs to be told about this gang.”

She continued: “Anyone who knows these people and their sectarian behaviour will also be aware that they were exactly where they wanted to be and the youths of both sides orchestrated the whole incident. It’s time to take the blinkers off.”

She spoke of her son being assaulted during the summer in Lurgan Park - an incident which was also reported in the ‘MAIL’.“When this gang attacked my 12-year-old son and his friend at the beginning of last summer, they weren’t so innocent. These people are well known to youth groups who are trying to dispel the problems of sectarianism and police for their antisocial behaviour.”

The Lurgan mum continued: “I don’t blame the youth of today - they learned it all from our mistakes.

“What is the solution? Are the parents actively helping these young boys and their behaviour or are they denying it exists?

“Is it time to bring in the social services? Or is it brushed away until the next fight - when a child is fatally wounded or will the the perpetrators end up in a young offenders centre not knowing right from wrong for the sake of a cause that should stay in the past?”