Row at council over UDR ‘celebration’

The request was made by Carrickfergus UDR Veterans’ Association.

The association plans to parade through Carrickfergus to the cenotaph on April 4 for a short religious service before a meal and entertainment elsewhere.

The council has agreed to a request for £1,000 financial support.

Sinn Fein Coast Road Councillor James McKeown said that he has no objection to the event being held but to the council “grant” for the event.

Chief executive Anne Donaghy stated that it was not a grant.

Backing for the UDR Association’s request was proposed by former RAF Wing Commander Knockagh Alderman Noel Williams, who said: “ I am happy to support their request. I believe the council should support them in a variety of ways.”

Cllr McKeown commented that there were “financial implications”.

He added that he “does not have a problem with the UDR holding a ceremony”.

DUP Carrick councillor Ald Billy Ashe MBE commented: “I am happy to second. I think that £1,000 is a small price to pay for saving many many lives, for protecting people in their hours of need. I would be delighted to.”

Cllr McKeown stated: “Not everyone views the UDR as he does.”

Mr Ashe continued: “I’m not putting any spin on anything. This is fact. It is not my community trying to rewrite history, not my community that started the terrorist campaign.

“It is our community’s men and women who served in the UDR.”

Larne Lough Ald Paul Reid added: “You have to bear in mind these were brave men and women who worked by day and served our little province at night.

“It was madness . Murder, bombs and bullets were the order of the day.

“I am proud to be associated with anyone trying to make a difference.

“They did not wear the uniform because they hated people but because they wanted to make a difference.

“The peace we have today is due to people like this who served in the UDR, Green Finches, RUC, RUC Reserve and all Her Majesty’s forces who paid a big price  in Northern Ireland.”

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr McKeown said that when a  request for funding of an event during Irish Language Week was brought to council, it was refused with the explanation that there were “funding streams” for such applications.

He indicated that all funding applications should follow the same procedure.

“The point I was trying to make is that we need to be seen as even-handed.”

Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter