Royal Society of Ulster Architects

The Royal Society of Ulster Architects was established in 1901 and it is the professional body for architects in Northern Ireland, with around 900 members. 

On Monday I attended the agm of the RSUA at which they were launching the RSUA Development Plan 2010-2012.  The launch took place in the Meter House at the Gasworks.  This beautiful old building was restored by Doug Elliott and is an excellent example of restoration and regeneration.

Dawson Stelfox, the president of the RSUA, gave a presentation on the development plan and then I made a short speech and took some questions.

I thanked the RSUA for supporting the development of DCAL's architecture and built environment policy and commented on the value of good design, the importance of built heritage as part of our cultural wealth and the need for sustainable development.

In conclusion I encouraged the RSUA to raise expectations - to challenge construction clients, both public and private, to strive for design excellence and to challenge policies which are a barrier to good design.  Good buildings, in which we can live, work and socialise, enhance the quality of our lives and I am grateful to the RSUA and the Ministerial Advisory Group for all their efforts.

DUP issue warning to Sinn Fein

DUP Issue Warning to Sinn Fein

Statement from Peter Robinson MP MLA (party leader), Nelson McCausland MLA, Jeffrey Donaldson MP MLA and Stephen Moutray MLA (members of the parades working group) 

“We are deeply disappointed by the statements made yesterday by Gerry Adams in relation to parades. His comments were crass, irresponsible and extremely unhelpful.

They are contrary to what was agreed to by Sinn Fein at Hillsborough and indicate a move back to the old republican stance.

Gerry Adams has stated that the right of public assembly is dependent on the consent of residents but that is Sinn Fein speak for cultural apartheid. Where is the vision for a shared and better future, with shared roads and shared public space?

His comments also breach both the spirit and the letter of the principles set out in the Hillsborough Agreement.

Gerry Adams is looking over his shoulders at dissidents and the most extreme elements in his own ranks. This is not a time for political retreat; it is a time for leadership and a time for progress. 

The core principles agreed at Hillsborough form the remit of the parades working group. Any move away from what was agreed at Hillsborough will be an act of bad faith and would stymie progress.  

The DUP is committed to finding a resolution to this issue and we will not be party to any report which falls short of the principles agreed at Hillsborough.”

DUP delegation meet Parades Commission

Along with David Simpson MP MLA and Stephen Moutray MLA I met with the Parades Commission yesterday to discuss the Drumcree parade in county Armagh.  It was a useful meeting, which lasted around an hour, and we were able to question them about their approach to the situation whereby dissident republican Brendan McKenna, has refused to engage with the Orangemen.  Sadly the Parades Commission has rewarded such intransigence.

The commissioners undertook to consider the issues we raised and we will seek a further meeting with them in due course.

Brendan McKenna was jailed for six years for his involvement in blowing up the Royal British Legion Hall in Portadown in 1982.  He served on Craigavon Council from 1997 to 2001 and was for some time an adviser to Sinn Fein MLAs.  Eventually he left Sinn Fein and he was elected general secretary of Eirigi in May 2009.

Sinn Fein agm in GAA complex

I have highlighted a number of cases in Ulster where Sinn Fein have used GAA premises for party political events.  Now it seems that the practice also occurs in the Irish Republic.  The current issue of An Phoblacht (11 February 2010) reports that:

A large crowd of dedicated republicans converged on Mallow GAA Complex early on  Sunday morning last for the annual general meeting of the Munster Cuige.

Sinn Fein vice-president Mary Lou McDonald was one of the speakers and the following extract is taken from the report of her speech:

Outlining in more detail the outcome of the talks at Hillsborough, Mary Lou explained how at all times the negotiating team would not entertain the DUP’s attempt to appease the Orange Order element in their ranks to return to the past and dispose of the Parades Commission. Cross-community support remains a key aspect to any parade being allowed into an area, with the DUP agreeing to the fundamental right that people have the right to live free from sectarian harassment.

Poor Mary Lou seems not to have understood the Hillsborough Agreement.  The fact is that the Parades Commission will be replaced by a new and improved framework - that is what the Agreement states.

Neither has she understood the nature of this new and improved framework.  There is no mention in the Agreement of a requirement for the 'support' of residents as 'a key aspect to any parade being allowed into an area.'  There is an emphasis on local dialogue and mediation but if dialogue and mediation fail then the adjudication will be based on human rights and the right of peaceful public assembly, which includes both parades and protests, is one of the most fundamental rights in a democratic society.

The comments by Mary Lou McDonald were followed by even stronger statements from Gerry Adams and others and it is clear that Sinn Fein leaders are looking over one shoulder at dissident republicans and over the other shoulder at some elements in their own ranks.

Parades Working Group

A working group has been established by OFMDFM and tasked with preparing a report on a new and improved framework for regulating public assemblies.  This will mean a new start, a new system and a new structure for parades and protests.  The group has six members, three of whom are DUP MLAs and three of whom are Sinn Fein MLAs.  The report has to be completed within a few weeks and so we are meeting every weekday, Monday to Friday.  Submissions have been invited from the other political parties in the Assembly and also from other stakeholders such as the Loyal Orders, bands, parades forums and residents groups.  The report will inform the development of new draft legislation, which will then go out to public consultation.  The legislation will then pass through the Assembly with the intention that it will receive Royal Assent in December.  The new and improved framework will replace the Parades Commission, which has been heavily criticised by many unionists and nationalists.

There is a long tradition of parades by the Loyal Orders, one that stretches back several hundred years, and the parades are a unique aspect of the cultural wealth of Ulster.   The colour and pageantry, the music of the bands, and the artistry of the banners all contribute to the special character and the popularity of the parades.

Grabble

I have referred on several occasions to the weekly column by Diarmaid O Muirithe in the Irish Times and yesterday (8 February), he included another Ulster-Scots word in his column.

In Ulster they have an interesting term for what a hungry baby does at his or her mother's breast: they grabble or clutch at the source of nourishment.  Paedar O Casaide sent me the word from Monaghan many years ago, and now I have it from James Baxter from Fermanagh, who asks where it came from.  From the Scots grabble to grope, a word also found in some north of England dialects, from Dutch grabbelen, an extended form of Middle Dutch grabben, which gave us grab.

This is another of the Scots words that came to Ulster as Ulster-Scots and have passed into general Ulster dialect.  The use of the word in Ulster is confirmed by the Dictionary of the Scots Language.

Orange Order museums project

There is an  article in the current issue of Museums Journal about the plans by the Orange Order to open two museums.  The £4m project comprises interpretive centres at its headquarters, Schomberg House, in Belfast and at Sloan's House in Loughgall, county Armagh.  This is an excellent project which can do much to increase understanding of the Orange tradition and contribute to a shared and better future in Ulster.  The project was launched in Schomberg House back in December.