Unionists break their silence
Thursday, 2 October 2008
UNIONISTS have attempted to defend their decision to oppose a motion to grant two former Limavady clergy the Freedom of the Borough, following a special meeting held at the local council offices on Monday night.
During Monday night's highly publicised meeting Unionists refused to comment on the issue apart from voting against it. But speaking to the Northern Constitution following the meeting, UUP and DUP Councillors have attempted to explain their position on this controversial issue.
In order for the freedom of the borough to be granted, two thirds of councillors attending the meeting must agree with the motion, but this was not the case on Monday night when, of the 14 councillors present, only the eight nationalists were in favour whilst the six unionists councillors voted against it.
Prior to the vote, and seeking support for his motion, Councillor Michael Coyle stated: "I have great honour proposing this motion at a time when there are serious efforts being made to reflect on how we deal with the past and how we treat those affected by it.
“In bringing forward the motion, I am very conscious of the cost the troubles of the past has been on all sections of our community and in particular those who have lost lives.
“During the worst of times, there was a great sense of hopelessness in many parts of the North of Ireland, including Limavady. Lives were being lost, property was being destroyed and the values that we all aspire to were being systematically lost. The new Church of Christ the Kings was bombed and the Presbyterian Church opposite was also damaged.
“Out of that sense of despair, the Minister of that Presbyterian Church, the Rev David Armstrong together with Fr Kevin Mullan, curate at The Church of Christ the King, showed a remarkable sense of courage and leadership which inspired people from all over the world. In such circumstances, of course, courage does not come free and is often paid for at a price.
“David Armstrong, his wife and four children were lost to Limavady and it is now, I believe, time to reflect on that dreadful period, update our experiences of that time and pay tribute to the Armstrong family.
“In granting the Freedom of the Borough, we will be portraying Limavady in a positive light and will be showing the outside world our sense of appreciation for what these two clergymen have done, not only in the past, but over the last 20 years in different places where they continued their crusade to bring Catholics and Protestants together in a spirit of Christianity which offers hope and dispels despair wherever it continues to exist."
SF
Sinn Fein members were keen to offer their support to motion, as Paddy Butcher said it was "now time to recognise the courage of the two clergy which was demonstrated almost a quarter of a century ago."
His party colleague, Anne Brolly said: "I think we are moving forward and it is time to show that we have matured. We are now living in a society which is multi cultural and has multi faiths - it is not just about protestants and catholics anymore. I hope everyone will support this."
The Mayor, Brenda Chivers brought the debate to a close by saying: "These men showed great courage at that time and I hope that we can do the same now."
UUP
Whilst Unionists members refused to speak during the debate, they did air their views after the meeting. In a joint statement, Councillor Edwin Stevenson and Alderman Jack Rankin said: "As members of the Ulster Unionist Party, we wish to clarify our position in respect of the Notice of Motion that came before council. We believe from the outset that Councillor Coyle's motion was not brought before us with the best interest of the Limavady people at heart. He was more concerned with scoring cheap political points and embarrassing Unionist councillors.
“It was quite obvious that he had not fully considered the possible outcome of this motion and he should have consulted with all parties to gauge the feelings of the residents of the borough. We as Ulster Unionists want to make it clear that we based our decision on the facts put before council and it was quite apparent to us that neither Rev David Armstrong or Fr Kevin Mullan merited this honour.
“We must remember that there are many groups within the borough, including long serving clergy, who have done a lot of sterling work to bring the two communities together. We will always endeavour to do what we believe to be best for the residents of the Limavady Borough."
