Sinn Féin activists remove offensive graffiti

The graffiti, which appeared following the murder of local man Karol Kelly, was removed following an appeal from the local Parish Priest, Father Joseph Gormley.

Father Gormley had said last week that the series of messages had been causing upset for Karol’s parents, Francis and Philomena.

Councillor Campbell said: “Following on from seeing the appeal from Father Gormley in Friday’s ‘Derry Journal,’ I contacted him and said we would do all we could to try and help remove the offensive graffiti.

“A number of local Sinn Féin activists painted out and removed as much of it as possible in the Central Drive area.

“I would like to commend them for taking this initiative, and would make an urgent appeal to anyone thinking of putting up such graffiti to stop and think about what they are doing and subsequent insult or upset this can cause.”

Karol Kelly (35) died following an incident in the early hours of Sunday, March 4 in the Grafton Street area of Rosemount.

Three people have since been charged with his murder.

Questioning the graffiti, which has been sprayed on gable walls, Fr Gormley said: “This graffiti has caused Karol’s parents upset and caused a lot of people upset.

“They don’t want to see it every time they go out. It is a reminder of their pain; it is a constant reminder of what happened and that is all being investigated by police.

“It is not helpful in any way.”