Sectarian mob 'intent on violence'

Ten people remained in custody today regarding the loyalist mob murder of a Catholic community worker.

Kevin McDaid, a 49-year-old father of four, was beaten to death yards from his home in Coleraine, Co Derry, on Sunday night.

Two of 12 people arrested in the wake of his murder were released without charge last night, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said.

Cross-community worker Mr McDaid was targeted by a gang of up to 40 men who entered a mainly Catholic housing estate after Rangers beat rivals Celtic to the Scottish Premier League title.

A second man, Damien Fleming, 46, is fighting for his life in hospital after being assaulted during the same disturbances.

The mob even turned on the dead man’s Protestant widow, Evelyn, when she tried to save him. After a beating she was left with two black eyes and covered in cuts and bruises.

Three people, including a 15-year-old boy, were detained in raids in Coleraine yesterday and were being questioned about the murder at the Serious Crime Suite in Antrim. Seven other people arrested on Monday are also being quizzed.

Mrs McDaid said she believed the murder was the work of the loyalist Ulster Defence Association, but a police chief said there was no suggestion the murder was orchestrated by paramilitaries.

Assistant Chief Constable Alastair Finlay said: “There is no evidence this was anything other than a maverick group of yobs. This group made their way down from a pub intent on violence.”

He added: “There is no suggestion it was in any way organised by any particular group. This was a group of about 15 males who went on a rampage with devastating consequences.”

The political representatives of the UDA – the Ulster Political Research Group - issued a statement in which they condemned the murder and those who would seek to cause community tensions.

They added: “There can be no justification for taking of life; there can be no reason or excuse.”

Mr Finlay said there were tensions in the wake of Rangers sealing the title and people in the Catholic area believed there was to be some sort of parade and “exhibitions of triumphalism” by the loyalist community.