Ballymena Riots Shake Northern Ireland

GRASSMONSTER SAYS:
“Petrol Bombs and Silence” – Ballymena Riots Shake Northern Ireland

By @grassmonster

It began with whispers. Then chants. Then flames.

The town of Ballymena, nestled in County Antrim, is no stranger to tension. But this week, it tipped from troubled to terrifying. A wave of anti-immigration protests spiralled into outright rioting, with masked men throwing petrol bombs, setting fires, and clashing with police. The air hung heavy with smoke and shame.

At least three officers were injured, dozens of arrests made, and yet again Northern Ireland finds itself on the front pages for the wrong reasons.

Let’s be clear – this wasn’t peaceful dissent. This was coordinated chaos. Organised groups, emboldened by online hate and old tribal instincts, turned Ballymena’s streets into a war zone. Banners screamed about “locals first.” But the violence screamed something darker.

It’s 2025, but parts of the UK still live with the ghosts of division. Sectarian hatred, now repackaged as anti-migrant fury, is burning through the seams of working-class towns. And much like in Gareth Jones’ travels through Europe’s crumbling democracies of the 1930s, the warning signs were ignored until they exploded.

The police tried to restore calm – outnumbered and outpaced. Local leaders offered the usual lines: “unacceptable,” “under investigation,” “not representative.” But ask the asylum seekers trapped in their flats as windows shattered and threats echoed outside – and you’ll hear a different story.

Ballymena isn’t unique. Across the UK, far-right sentiment is growing, especially in post-industrial areas left behind by economics, exploited by opportunists, and now weaponised against the vulnerable. Immigrants become scapegoats. The real issues – poverty, housing, jobs – get swept aside for something easier to hate.

In the end, it’s not about one riot. It’s about what it reveals. That the so-called peace is fragile. That beneath the surface, the past isn’t past at all. And unless someone grabs the political wheel, towns like Ballymena could become testing grounds for a far uglier future.

Jones once walked into burning villages to report the truth. If he were here today, he’d find it flickering in the flames of a forgotten town, where fear has found a new mask – and the old divisions have simply changed their slogan.

#BallymenaRiots #NorthernIrelandCrisis #FarRightRising #AsylumUnderFire #GrassmonsterSays