Offer to host Forces Day is turned down

The local authority was notified of the decision in a letter from the Ministry of Defence in August following an offer earlier this year to host the event.

Stirling will instead be the venue for the celebrations, making it the second time Scotland has hosted the annual commemorations since 2011.

“I am very grateful for this kind offer to host the sixth Armed Forces Day national event and I have been made aware of your successful Armed Forces Day event this year,” wrote the Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans the Rt Hon Mark Francois MP.

“However, I regret to inform you that your application was unsuccessful this year. As you may be aware the national Armed Forces Day event will be held in Stirling in 2014.

“Carrickfergus has a long association and a close connection to the Armed Forces community, especially the 38 (Irish) Brigade and your strong support for Armed Forces Day is clear evidence of this.

“I wish you success in the planning and execution of your event in 2014 and the Ceremonial Events and Commemorations Team within the Ministry of Defence is at your disposal for advice.”

Commenting on the decision, Carrick Councillor David Hilditch indicated it was no great surprise that the offer had been turned down.

“It’s not something we were really expecting; I would have been surprised if Carrick were able to host Armed Forces Day as soon as 2014. I think 2015 or 2016 would be more realistic,” he said.

“We will keep trying and hope that our offer will be successful for either of those two years.

“It’s about time that Armed Forces Day came to Northern Ireland; it’s been hosted all over the UK in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Plymouth, so I can think of no better place than Carrickfergus if it were to come here.”

Armed Forces Day takes place annually at the end of June. As well as the national event, hundreds of smaller civic and community celebrations take place across the country in the week leading up to the flagship celebrations.

Offering an opportunity for the public to show their support for service men and women, Armed Forces Day is a relatively new addition to the miliary events calendar having been established in its present form in 2009.

The celebrations in Carrick this year included a demonstration from the Red Arrows.