A huge banner proclaiming ‘A United Ireland Is For Everyone’ has been removed from Divis Tower in West Belfast.
Several people appeared to load the banner into a van on Monday morning.
It was initially unclear if the large scale appeal to people to ‘talk about’ the prospect of unification was removed due to the weather taking a turn for the worse from Sunday. High winds have picked up since Sunday as well as heavy rain forecast to continue throughout the day. But the PSNI later issued a statement saying health and safety concerns were an issue.
It had initially appeared over the weekend and photos soon emerged on social media.
The banner has what appears to be a Sinn Fein logo on it, but the party have not yet commented on its appearance.
The message on it read: “A United Ireland Is For Everyone. Let’s talk about it. Déanaimis le chéile é.”
Its appearance coincides with the centenary of the creation of Northern Ireland, which was marked today, Monday, with a message from the Queen.
In it, she says that: “This anniversary reminds us of our complex history, and provides an opportunity to reflect on our togetherness and our diversity.”
Later on Monday, the police cited health and safety concerns over the banner.
Inspector Brown said: “The Police Service is committed to working with local communities and responding to any issues where there is a concern for public safety.
“Police were made aware of a large banner in the area of Divis Street on Sunday night. The banner posed a clear health and safety concern. Discussions took place about the issue of public safety and the banner was subsequently removed by a third party this morning (Monday 3 May).”
