Catholic man killed in sectarian attack

A Catholic man with four children was kicked to death by a sectarian "mob" in Northern Ireland, neighbours said yesterday.

Kevin McDaid, 49, a community worker in Coleraine, Co Londonderry, was "brutally beaten" by a 40-strong gang following Celtic and Rangers matches which decided the Scottish Premier League, police said. Nine men were arrested in connection with the attack last night. Celtic scarves were tied on railings and flowers left close to the scene of the attack.

Mr McDaid's wife, Evelyn, was also targeted and sustained bruising and cuts to the head, while another man is in hospital with serious injuries. Some residents claimed he was trying to intervene to prevent another assault, others said he was out looking for his children, Ryan, Mark and Lee.

Damien Fleming, 46, was also taken to hospital with serious injuries after being assaulted in nearby Pates Lane during the disturbances. He is understood to have been targeted by a gang which arrived in cars from outside the area. Police are treating the incident as attempted murder but warned it could yet be a double killing.

Detective Chief Inspector Frankie Taylor confirmed the motive was sectarianism and said the victim was well-known and well-liked. He added that Mr McDaid worked very closely with police to try to improve the area. "He has been described to me as a man who would do anything for anybody," he said.

The area has been relatively calm since violence flared last summer over a republican internment bonfire.

Hazelbank Presbyterian Church minister Alan Johnston said: "We are truly stunned and shocked by the news. We condemn murder and violence of any kind. It does not belong in the society we live in."

Nationalist SDLP Assembly member John Dallat said: "This is the second time that this kind of lynching mob has been involved in Coleraine."

Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness also condemned the attacks. "Despite the enormous progress we have made over the recent past, sectarian hatred continues to blight many areas and loyalist paramilitaries continue to orchestrate sectarian violence," he said. "We need to see clear and unequivocal condemnation of this sectarian murder from the political leaders of unionism."