'Day of action' against Brexit planned by border group

A 'day of action' in response to the UK's pending exit from the EU has been planned for next month.

The event has been organised by a new grouping calling itself Border Communities Against Brexit.

They've formed out of concern that Northern Ireland's vote to remain in Europe won't be respected.

On the 8th October, across Northern Ireland, supporters of the group are mobilising at various points along the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to demonstrate.

Father Joe McVeigh, a spokesperson for the group in Fermanagh, says they're opposed to the return of a hard border.

"We're a group from all sectors of the community," he told Q radio news.

"From business, farming, individuals who are all opposed to Brexit. And opposed to any kind of return to a hard border on the island of Ireland," he continued.

"We believe that it makes absolutely no sense, that in an island that's this small, to have one part of the island in Europe and the other part out of it," he added.

The curate also went on to describe the current feeling among supporters of the group. He said that their concerns were varied: some fearful of how Brexit may affect farming, others worried about the impact it may have on the social aspect of living on the border.

"Many people feel very disappointed [by the result] and anxious and worried about the future - the economic future, the social life of the whole border - and that's across the board," he said.

"The farming communities in the county are especially concerned by the future because 80% of their income has, until now, depended on European CAP subsidies," he added.

Addressing the purpose of the coming fortnight's day of action, Father McVeigh said the demonstration was all about ensuring that people's voices were heard on the issue of the UK leaving the EU.

"We believe that the majority of the people in Fermanagh and throughout the six counties are in favour of  staying within Europe and that's what we're campaigning for [next month]," he said.

"We want our voices heard at the time when these negotiations [to leave the European Union] begin early in the New Year - we don't want any road closures or custom posts, or anything like that - we've had enough of that in the past and we've worked hard to get the roads open in the 70s, 80s and 90s. And we'll continue to do that," he added.