Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Belfast News Letter, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. The row comes amid continuing controversy over the use of Irish, with Unionist politicians recently complaining about its continuing “weaponisation” by Republicanism – an allegation now echoed by church ministers. Last week’s Irish language event, called Preispiteirigh agus an Ghaeilge, was set up by the Pastor of Antrim Free Presbyterian Church, Rev Paul Thompson.

It was attended by Sinn Fein’s national chairman Declan Kearney MLA, as well figures including Ian Paisley’s son Rev Kyle Paisley, and DUP founding member Wallace Thompson. Advertisement Advertisement Rev Thompson told the BBC the event was set up to mark what he maintained is the “deep intersection between Presbyterianism and the Irish language”, adding it was “a journey looking at history and realising just how much of the past belongs to us”. But it has been slammed by several other Free Presbyterian ministers, who penned a joint letter arguing that, whatever its history may be, in this day and age the language has been “hijacked by violent republicanism to fight a culture war against Protestant and Unionist traditions and culture” – a culture war they fear the church has now been roped into.

State ministers in their joint letter: “We are dismayed that Free Presbyterian ministers would allow themselves and their event, regardless of their intentions, to be used by Sinn Fein and the media to promote republican objectives. “We are also aghast at claims that at least one Sinn Fein member was personally invited to this event and thereby afforded a predictable opportunity to promote his political agenda. Advertisement Advertisement "We stand with the victims of republican terrorism, not with those who continue to support and glorify the terrorists who murdered and maimed innocent people in an immoral terrorist campaign, and as such we wish to publicly disassociate ourselves from it.

” The church split comes in the wake of a political row in which Unionist politicians took aim at Secretary of State Hilary Benn for dismissing their concerns over the Irish language. In an interview broadcast on the BBC on Friday (18th), Mr Benn said he didn’t “understand what the fuss is about” over a Sinn Fein minister’s controversial decision to spend £145,000 of public money replacing English signs and ticket machines in Belfast’s recently opened Grand Central Station with new dual language versions, and stated the issue is “about respecting and celebrating all of the traditions”. Both the UUP and TUV hit out at Mr Benn, with Health Minister Mike Nesbitt and Belfast councillor Ron McDowell taking issue with that characterisation of the way the Irish language is used by some elements of Republicanism.

Advertisement Advertisement They each pointed to the phrase “every word of Irish spoken is another bullet fired for Irish freedom”. Attributed to Danny Morrison, Sinn Fein’s publicity director during the 1980s, it’s had a resurgence since featuring in last year’s movie telling the story of Republican rappers Kneecap, and frequently crops up in online circles. Said Mr Nesbitt: “Mr Benn says he wants us all to celebrate all traditions; does that include the tradition of some republicans to believe every word spoken in Irish is another bullet fired in the battle for Irish freedom? That tradition needs to be addressed if we are to achieve cross-community support for the language my party would like to see.

“I’m disappointed he does not realise progress requires compromise, not fully throated support for one side.” Mr McDowell argued that Republican weaponisation of Irish “sets it apart from other minority languages in the British Isles". Advertisement Advertisement He said: “No one has ever described every word spoken in Welsh as “another bullet”.

No one has ever described Scots Gaelic as a weapon. “As for claiming that this is about respecting and celebrating all of the traditions, Mr Benn is frankly wrong. “There are large areas of Northern Ireland where there is no respect nor celebration of my community’s culture or traditions.

Far from it; rather than respecting my traditions, [they are] actively suppressed through the Parades Commission. Nationalism cannot even tolerate my culture for 10 minutes a year.”.