Don’t denude Stormont of unionist monuments. Let’s have nationalist ones too. What might they be?
Odd that the table on which the Union was signed and a portrait of the Queen by a local artist have been quietly removed from Stormont, according to Jim Allister, a hawk eyed stirrer of eminence.
These items are surely less controversial than the bronzes of Carson and Craig and the old boy’s grave outside the south entrance. Will someone wage a useless battle to have the statues removed and dig the old boy and his wife up? There’s little doubt that for the building alone, Craig deserves to be memorialised, as the definitive account makes clear by Alan Greer in Irish Historical Studies May 1999( No 123 (£) “Sir James Craig and the Construction of Parliament Buildings at Stormont”
There was a ‘band of politicians and civil servants virulently critical of the government of Northern Ireland and suspicious that Ulster Unionists would enjoy the benefits of local autonomy at the expense of the British taxpayer’.16 Sir Frederick Banbury, for example, the Conservative M.P. for the City of London, had ‘great regard for the Ulster Party and for the City of Belfast, but I thought that they were going to have their own Parliament, and were going to deal with their own affairs. Why should I put my hand into my nearly depleted pocket in order to provide premises for my hon. Friends in Ulster?’
Although the formal decision was one for Whitehall, Craig was almost single-handedly responsible for the acquisition of the Stormont estate. Indeed, he was so keen to purchase the site that he arranged a personal loan of £3,000 from his bank to use as a deposit.
This is not a sectarian point, really not. It’s just that’s it’s better to add symbols to public spaces rather then remove them, to go for “ as well as.. rather than instead of..” and avoid the old zero sum game like the plague.
Can we learn lessons from elsewhere? Outside Westminster are two dubious monuments , to Richard the Lion Heart and Oliver Cromwell . Richard didn’t give a fig for England other than to bleed it dry to fund his obsessive crusading. And among his many ruthless acts, Cromwell closed Parliament down. But both were heroes in the Victorian pageant of English history. and so they were memorialised. Perhaps we can we get to that point in closer than 300 hundred years?
But seriously, who or what can/should be commemorated at Stormont that nationalists would welcome without winding unionists up enough for them to impose their undoubted veto? So far we have the big picture of Assembly members. Should we follow the precedent of the MPs’ offices block, Portcullis House at Westminster and regularly commission portraits of distinguished members? ( ok that begs a big question). Art work by MLAs is no stranger to the Stormont so what about more artwork of some of them on permanent display?
To capture generations of nationalist neglect, perhaps a montage of the whole first generation SDLP which included keen parliamentarians like Fitt, Currie and Paddy Devlin.( Hume despite his undoubted eminence was never keen on Stormont). Older figures like Wee Joe Devlin, Edddie McAteer and Cahir Healey? And in the end can we really leave out the DFM and senior friends? Or should we go for something incomprehensible and abstract?
Do we need another artistic panel headed up by that keen connoissseur Eamonn Mallie ?
Any thoughts that might actually be accepted? The one approach that should not happen is to sneak stuff away without letting on. Evasiveness of that kind implies a guilty conscience.
Didn’t you just describe them as “off the boat” or out of the barracks?
Why would their name affect their attitude to British culture in the city?
Harry F
Nationalists and republicans are to be commended for embracing the diverse history of their city in Derry, and should not seek to eradicate expressions of British or unionist culture.
But that doesn’t detract from the fact that nationalists/ republicans would like to see their cultural and political identity similarly recognised in town centres elsewhere.
To suggest a fondness for soccer or ‘British’ pop music equates to a garrison mentality is absurd.
JH and Dec you’re getting a wee bit hung up on a somewhat tongue and cheek post I wrote for the fleadh thread, maybe slightly out of context here but I wanted to show that despite having a politically nationalist majority, Derry was not an especially culturally nationalist town.
Chris there’s nothing to “commend”, the culture of Derry is the culture of Derry, Derry people relate to it as the city’s ethos, we don’t parse and analyze it and say “this belongs to unionist Derry’s culture and this is part of nationalist Derry”.
I take your point that other towns in the North should do the same.
us……if you didn’t like my suggestion,just say so lad.
Not sure what Scottish Football has to do with this particular topic ? But if you think,that being a Unionist,I therefore show allegiance to ANY Scottish Football Team,you are very much mistaken !!
Being as we are supposed to be into centenaries, it might be a timely reminder that the current decade includes the Divis Street Riots when the National Flag was removed from the electoral offices of Billy McMillan by the police from Hastings Street.
An early influence on me as I was at school in the vicinity.
That all worked out well.
And I have often thought that it was an overlooked aspect of our history.
Something commemorating that at Stormont would be nice.
The greatest Irish male has his 50th anniversary in 2 years time of winning Irelands greatest sporting event.
Surely a statue would be in order for nationalism to cherish.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkle
What might they be? a picture of an Armalite and a ballot box?
Why not save money and just add a hurl to Carsons outstretched hand maybe put a sliothar in his other
“as we are supposed to be into centenaries…. I was at school in the vicinity”
Knew you were getting on a bit FJH, but didn’t think you were jsut that old!
Another day closer to “bus pass”
Ah I meant we should not overlook the fact that within the centenaries there are several “50ths” in the next ten year….not to mention 75th anniversary of WW2 starting.
And Id also say we are totally ovelooking Womens Suffrage (raised I believe by a woman politician at a seminar earlier this week) .
Wont score party points by mentioning which one….;)
‘…..just add a hurl to Carson’s outstretched hand….’
PaulT. How long do you think it would get staying there before a DUP mob would arrive to take it down. Remember 1964, flag in SF office.
‘…..just add a hurl to Carson’s outstretched hand….’
“PaulT. How long do you think it would get staying there before a DUP mob would arrive to take it down. Remember 1964, flag in SF office.”
Madraj55, Carson was fond of hurling and he disliked the OO, an outlook on life which matches that of many nationalists, so I don’t see why its necessary to erect a nationalist friendly statue when the prime statue in NI can be easily and honestly adapted, possibly adding a cheap brass plate with some of his quotes, maybe
“What a fool I was! I was only a puppet, and so was Ulster, and so was Ireland”
Job done really
PaulT It wasn’t me who suggested the placing of the hurl. I was reacting to it. I must have quoted your user by mistake.
sorry madraj55, think its me causing confusion, I suggested adding the hurl, guess I didn’t really address your comment regarding the DUP mob, what can I say, it was ever thus, is there a nationalist emblem said mob wouldn’t show up to for the sake of mopery, at least with my suggestion they would be tearing down one of their own ‘iconic’ figures
…..that would be the dup mob who murdered Dennis Donaldson ? Or the dup mob who murdered Robert McCartney ? Or perhaps it was the dup mob who dragged jean McConville away to her torture,and death ?
A statue in remembrance to ‘the disappeared’,as already mentioned,is the only memorial nationalists/republicans need !!
…the only memorial nationalists/republicans need …
Heinz,
If you mean all members of those two classes, then your comment is offensive.
What ? Your offeneded Joe……….all the way from Canada ?
No, Heinz. I’m not a member of either of the groupings you named.