Ballymena saw violent attacks on Catholic homes, schools and churches during the Troubles. Now, attention has turned to the Roma community, as Ballymena residents protest outside the houses of Roma families, as the slogan “protect our children” abounds. Ernie runs a Facebook group for the protests. Is it intimidation? “We certainly aren’t intimidating — the police are there anyway, so you can’t get away with that”. But Roma homes have been burned and protestors have clashed with police. Some believe that paramilitary groups active during the Troubles are behind the violence, as lists of migrants' addresses circulate. Peter has deep paramilitary links, and while he acknowledges paramilitary involvement in organised crime, he denies affiliation to the riots: “No, this was about sheer frustration about the behaviour of one section of a community, against the rest”.