“Private landlord failures” bear much of the blame for the racist rioting that convulsed Ballymena in June last year, driving out three-quarters of the town’s Roma population.

That is the finding of a report published this week by Radius Housing, the largest housing association in Ballymena and Northern Ireland. It convened two forums this year, bringing together residents, community leaders, minority groups and voluntary and public bodies. Their testimony makes up the report, although it notes the voices of many victims are absent. One-third left Northern Ireland altogether, according to a survey by Ballymena’s Inter Ethnic Forum.

Witnesses were still able to pass on grim stories: teachers told of struggling to help families evacuate, and of children never heard of again, their belongings abandoned in classrooms.

The violence spread to other unionist-majority towns, and some unionist politicians were criticised for raising “legitimate concerns”. The time to do this is not during a riot. One year on, the report performs that function.

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In June 2025, Ballymena was home to around 1,200 Roma,........

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