A MAN IN his 40s has been arrested in relation to the alleged burning of Pride flags in Waterford city.

Gardaí said the man has been charged with a count of criminal damage and is due to appear at Waterford District Court on 6 July.

Gardaí had been investigating the incident where a number of Pride flags were taken down and set alight at the Mall, Waterford city in the early hours of Monday morning last.

The incident came at the end of Waterford’s Pride of the Déise weekend for the LGBTQ+ community.

Meanwhile, people gathered today for the re-raising of Pride flags outside Waterford City and County Council’s buildings at the Mall, where activists, politicians and gardaí saw the flag held aloft again.

Inspector Gavin Hegarty, from Waterford Garda Station, said it was important for gardaí to show their support for the event.

“For us [Pride is] one of our biggest months of the year, coming together as a community to support everybody. It’s important for us to support all members of our community no matter what their background or whatever their views on the world might be.”