Mr Geoghegan said he looking to have fresh Pride flags flown above the council's offices: 'I certainly won't be deterred as mayor and will be looking to have the flags replaced immediately.' It is the second year the city's council has raised the flag for Pride month and Mr Geoghegan hopes future officeholders will continue the practice 'to show members of the gay community that they have allies'. 'It would be a rare occurrence but it goes to show why festivals like Pride matter in the first place because there are still people who view the LGBTQI community as legitimate targets of hate,' he said. 'Really disappointed to hear that somebody of that mindset would take down pride flags and destroy them. Mayor of Waterford Cllr Damien Geoghegan, who had originally proposed flying the flags, said it was a 'disgusting' and 'disappointing' act. However, flags outside the Menapia Building on The Mall were burned overnight and the council made the discovery after being alerted by security for a neighbouring premises. A garda spokesperson said An Garda Síochána 'take hate crimes very seriously' and they are treating the incident as criminal damage.įlags had just been erected last Friday at the local authority's buildings in the city and Dungarvan to mark Waterford's Pride of the Deise weekend, a celebration of the LGBT community.