I rise to condemn the vandalism that led to the destruction of a memorial plaque to Paddy the Pigeon in Carnlough over the weekend.

During World War II, the RAF used many pigeons, which were trained to carry secret coded messages between the Allies, providing vital communication links. Paddy was a locally trained bird, owned and bred by Captain Andrew Hughes and jointly trained by John McMullan of Carnlough. He played a crucial role for the Allied forces during the Normandy landings on D-Day.

On 12 June 1944, Paddy was released in Normandy, carrying coded information about the Allied forces' advance. Despite the challenges posed by bad weather and the German falcons that were trained to intercept messenger pigeons, Paddy made it back to his base in Hampshire, England, in the record time of four hours and 50 minutes. That was the fastest recorded time for any pigeon making that journey during the Normandy landings. For his service, Paddy was awarded the Dicken Medal on 1 September 1944. That medal is the highest honour that an animal can receive in the UK. It is the equivalent of the Victoria Cross for humans.

After the war, Paddy returned to his home in Carnlough, where he lived until his death in 1954 and where a memorial plaque in his honour was erected by the Larne and District Historical Society in 2009. The plaque had remained in place without issue for the past 15 years. At the weekend, however, it was ripped from the wall and destroyed at a time at which the country paused to remember the bravery and sacrifice of all those who landed at Normandy on 6 June 1944, fighting for the freedom that we all enjoy today. That mindless act of thuggery has served only to anger the local community.

The significance of the attack's timing is certainly not lost on me. I say this to those who waited until the cover of darkness to carry out such a callous act: just know that you do not represent the good people of Carnlough or East Antrim. We will remember them.