AN appearance by controversial comedian Frankie Boyle at the UK's largest community festival will go ahead after protesters called off their campaign at the 11th hour.

But the mediation talks between the festival organisers and local disability campaigners has led to the father of one child with Down's syndrome insisting he will carry on his protests against the Glasgow comic.

John Lundy, whose family has fronted the campaign, said he would "continue to stand with those people who agree that mocking the disabled is wrong".

The furore around Boyle's appearance at the West Belfast Festival next week put the event's organisers under more pressure than at any time during its 27 year history.

The opposition was generated by Boyle’s previous jokes about children with Down’s syndrome and disabled people.

The campaigners picketed the festival's Falls Road offices last Friday and Saturday calling for the gig to be cancelled.

Even one of the founding members of the Festival, officially known as Feile an Phobail, former Lord Mayor of Belfast and Sinn Fein councillor, stepped in, urging organisers to axe the gig.

Mr Hartley, whose brother is disabled, compared the booking of the outspoken Glasgow comic with inviting a racist or homophobic comedian to the event.

Talks were held between the festival's management and the campaign group Feile For All earlier this week, with an agreement reached with the majority of those involved.

In their statement a spokesperson for Feile for All said that while the gig would continue they “remain firmly opposed to this act appearing at our festival”.

A spokesman said:?“The group was aggrieved by the comments made by Frankie Boyle which was further compounded by Feile's decision to invite him to appear at our festival.

“The Feile for All group felt real and deep hurt by the comments and felt that Feile (the festival), by extension were condoning the same, contrary to their ethos of inclusivity. Attacks on the disabled, either verbal or physical, will always be wrong.

“We have raised the issue of attacks on the most vulnerable within society as being unacceptable and created awareness of disability issues generally.”

But Mr Lundy, whose 12-year-old daughter Mia has Down’s syndrome, said: “I wish to distance myself personally and my family from the ‘joint’ statement."

He claimed undy alleged the festival organisers told parents they would not cancel Boyle’s show due to the popularity of the Scot, the high ticket sales, and the risk that the annual event could collapse.

More than 2000 tickets for Boyle’s appearance have been sold and Feile an Phobail warned that it would face bankruptcy if it cancelled and had to hand the money back.

In a statement published in Belfast's Andersonstown News paper, both the campaigners and festival organisers said measures "would put in place to avoid a situation like this arising in the future".

It added that there was also "an undertaking by Feile management to represent the concerns of the group to Frankie Boyle’s management".

For his part, Boyle has stayed out of the row beyond taking to social media to say how much he was looking forward to the Belfast event.

Last Friday Boyle posted a message on Twitter, stating: "I'm doing a gig in Belfast. It's going to be a f*****g belter too."

The festival was set up by Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams in 1988 and the party continues to have a major influence on it, with many members on the committee.

It was established after one of the bloodiest periods of the Troubles in the 1980s, with the organisers decided to create a music and cultural festival that reflected a more positive image of west Belfast following these two televised, highly public terrorist events in their area.

Other performances this year include a talk by Labour leadership favourite Jeremy Corbyn, 80s pop icons The Human League and Marc Almond, as well as reggae favourites UB40.