Larne Cricket Club left stumped by Unite protest

A total of 15 members of trade union Unite gathered at the front door of the Curran Court Hotel at about 7pm on Wednesday, October 9 armed with flags, placards and loudspeakers.

And when members of Larne Cricket Club arrived at the hotel for their AGM, they were left baffled by the unfolding drama.

It emerged that the demonstration was part of an ongoing dispute between Unite and chemical company Ineos, which runs an oil refinery in Grangemouth, Scotland.

Members of Unite are planning a 48-hour strike at the refinery at the weekend in a row over the treatment of a union convener.

And as part of their campaign, Unite has been seeking to organise protests at the premises of partners, shareholders, associates or customers of Ineos across the UK and Ireland.

One such customer is retail giant ASDA, who Unite mistakenly believed to be a sponsor of Larne Cricket Club.

Davy Kettyles, senior organiser of the national organising and leverage department in Ireland told the Times: “In order to attract ASDA’s attention, it was decided to hold a peaceful protest outside the Curran Court Hotel, where the cricket club was holding its AGM.

“It was not our intention to harm the club or the hotel in any way.”

But Jonny Baxter of Larne Cricket Club explained: “When ASDA opened in the town they were running a local community initiative to help local clubs and we agreed to have a photo taken outside the store in exchange for them giving us some orange juice and tea bags.

“This photo is on the club website and so Unite obviously assumed that ASDA were major sponsors of the club, which is not the case.”