Ulster band are world champions

Today the World Pipe Band Championships were held in Glasgow with 234 pipe bands taking part.    The annual competition is organised by the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association, which is the world governing body of piping and drumming.

Northern Ireland has a very strong pipe band sector and there are more pipe bands per head of the population in Northern Ireland than there are in Scotland.  As a result Northern Ireland bands and drum majors generally perform extremely well in the competition and this year was no exception.

The Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band won the grade 1 competition, making them the best band in the world.  Moreover they won the championships last year and altogether they have notched up eight grade 1 championship titles.  This is a truly international event with bands competing from twelve countries and Scottish Power were second while the magnificent Simon Fraser University Pipe Band from Canada came third.

The Field Marshal Montgomery band was form in 1945 and was named in honour of a great Ulsterman, Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery of Alamein.

There is real depth in the pipe band world and Northern Ireland bands, Ballybriest and Clogher, also came first in two of the lower grades, with Northern Ireland drum majors taking three world titles.

This is a magnificent achievement by the pipe band movement in Northern Ireland.  There are few art forms where Northern Ireland practititioners can claim to be the very best in the whole world but this is one and possibly the only one.

It will be interesting to see what coverage is given to this success by the local media and I mean more than a few sentences on teletext, a 30 second slot in the news or a short column on page 23 of a newspaper..  This will be a test of the cultural inclusivity of our local media.  A world champion from Northern Ireland is the equivalent of an Olympic gold medal and that's how it should be treated and celebrated in all the local media. 

Moreover we have six champions to celebrate.  So congratulations to the Field Marshal and the other bands and drum majors .....  and now its over to the media.

Ardoyne dissident protest shambles

This morning the Ligoniel Walker Club of the Apprentice Boys of Derry walked down the Crumlin Road towards the city centre before heading off to the main demonstration in Londonderry.  It is a small parade of just one club and one band and only takes a few minutes to pass the shop fronts on the Crumlin Road.

They were accompanied today by the Blue Star Accordion Band, whose members are mainly women and children, and which takes part in many community and cross-community events.  They perform in old people' homes and their music is enjoyed by Roman Catholics as well as Protestants.  They teach children to play the accordion and they provide the music every year at the annual commemoration service for the three Scottish soldiers who were murdered by the IRA.

In spite of that the Parades Commission refused to allow the members of the Blue Star to walk down the Crumlin Road beyond Hesketh.  It wasn't simply that there were restrictions on their music, or aeven  ban on music but the band members were actaully prohibited from walking down the road with the Apprentice Boys.  We don't know why, because the Parades Commission does not have to explain itself and does not explain itself.  In any other cour a judge has to give has to give a full and coherent explanation of his decision but not the 'cultural commissars' of the Parades Commission.

That is why earlier in the week I described this determination as 'inconsistent and incoherent'.  On previous occasions this band has been allowed to walk down and their behaviour has been impeccable yet this time they were banned, with no explanation and no justification.

Meanwhile the Crumlin and Ardoyne Residents Association (CARA), which has links to Sinn Fein, and the Greater Ardoyne Residents Collective (GARC), which is a dissident republican goup, applied for protests against the parade.  GARC applied for 300 protestors, in spite of the fact that the membership of the club and band would be no more than 60 people.  In the end the Parades Commission permitted 60 CARA protestors, who were allowed to stand on both sides of the road, and 60 GARC protestors, who were further down on the Ardoyne side of the road.

There was a substantial police presence and that was understandable because of the appalling republican violence at Ardoyne on 12 July, which lasted for many hours and included the attempted murder of policemen.

However the GARC protest turned into something of a shambles.  Having applied for 300 protestors and been permitted to have 60, they couldn't even muster the 60 and in fact there were less than 40.  This must have been a real embarassment for Martin Og Meehan and his friends in the Republican Network for Unity and other little dissident factions in Ardoyne.

The Apprentice Boys walked down the Crumlin Road from Hesketh to Woodvale in a dignified, respectful manner, as they always do, and they walked in silence, with no band and no music. 

After they had gone the GARC protestors started to disperse and as Meehan walked down he shouted across the road to me.  I heard him shout out my name but couldn't hear the rest of what he said.

Then shortly after that Meehan and several others became embroiled in altercations with the police and they were arrested and taken away.  We will wait now to hear what comes of this. 

The Parades Commission had their secretary there as well as several of their officers and they would have seen what happened.  So what will their reaction be to such behaviour by leading members of GARC?  What influence will it have on their determination for the Royal Black Preceptory parade on the last Saturday of the month?

And the media, what coverage will they give to the arrest of these dissident republicans?  What will the BBC say about it?  What will the Irish News and the Belfast Telegraph say about it?

Another issue that arose this morning was the appearance of several men who were wearing blue bibs marked 'human rights observer' and who arrived with the republican protestors.  When one of them was asked who he was and what organisation he was from he refused to answer.  Yet he was allowed by the PSNI to walk anywhere with a small video camera, and come close to people from the unionist community pointing his camera into their faces.  I do not believe that wearing a blue bib marked 'human rights observer' gives anyone a special status and he certainly produced no identification or authentication.  This seems to be a republican ruse to enable republican propagandists to get close to members of the unionist community who are there to enjoy the parade and gather video material for subsequent use in republican propaganda.  Indeed the provocative manner in which such people operate, coming in close and pointing video cameras in our faces, seems almost designed to provoke a reaction which would then be filmed and put on the internet.  However members of the unionist community ignored such provocation.

There is work to be done on a number of issues before the next parade on the Crumlin Road at the end of the month but one thing was clear from this morning.  GARC are simply a gather-up of dissident republicans and this morning they couldn't even gather up very many. 

The issue of  self-appointed 'human rights observers' is one that we will be taking up with the police in the next few weeks.  It seems that you can go anywhere in these situations as long as you wear a bib with 'human rights observer' printed on it.  If that is the case and the PSNI allow it to continue, I suspect that many people will be out ordering their own blue bibs for such situations.

Katie's Christian faith

Katie Taylor has won a gold medal for Team Ireland in the Olympic Games.

This is the first time that women's boxing has been included in the Olympics and she won the gold medal in the women's lightweight, 60 kg, division.  She is also the world female boxing champion as well as representing the Republic of Ireland at football.  The Taylor family live in Bray and Katie is a member of Bray boxing club.

The 26-year-old Katie is unusual in the world of boxing in that she is a born-again Christian.  Her mother Brigid, who was brought up as a Roman Catholic, was saved first and became a born-again Christian.  The rest of the family were then converted - Katie, her two brothers and sister, and her father David.  For the past eight years the family have been members of St Mark's Family Worship Centre in Pearse Street in the centre of Dublin.  This is a Pentecostal church, part of the Assemblies of God, and the pastor is Sean Mullarkey.

Katie Taylor's faith is central to her life and she is well-known for pointing heavenward after a bout and praising God for being her strength and her shield.  Her favourite Bible passage is Psalm 18.

Katie is a wonderful ambassador for Jesus Christ and I was interested to hear on Radio Ulster another boxer speak of the impression that Katie had made on her by her lifestyle.  Her success in the boxing ring provides a great opportunity for her to share her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

23% drop in civil partnerships

Last year, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics, the number of civil partnership ceremonies in the United Kingdom rose from 6,385 in 2010 to 6,795 in 2011, an increase of 6.4%.

However there was a huge variation across the nations that make up the United Kingdom.

• In England the increase was 6.6%.
• In Scotland the increase was much higher at 19.1%.
• Meanwhile in Wales the figure descreased by 6%.
• In Northern Ireland there was also a decrease but it was much greater at 23.3%.

In Scotland campaigners for 'gay marriage' highlighted the Scottish figure in support of their case.  Meanwhile Scottish newspapers gave extensive coverage to the increase and The Scotsman (1 August) headed its report: 'Same-sex marriage backers hail 20% rise in civil partnerships.'

This raises two questions and having been out of Northern Ireland, on holiday, last week I do not know the answers.  What has been the reaction from the 'gay marriage' lobby in Northern Ireland to the 23.3% decrease and what coverage have newspapers given to this substantial decrease?

Joe Coggle

This morning I attended the funeral of former Belfast councillor Joe Coggle.  I had first met him in the early 80s through the Save Our Schools campaign and he was already an established councillor when I was first elected in 1989.  Initially he had been a DUP councillor but in later years he was an Independent Unionist.

Joe was one of the characters of the council, at a time when there were many characters on the council.  He was a plain-speaking man and one who would always argue his case.  I am sure that most of the councillors who served with him on the council can recall amusing incidents involving Joe.

At the service in Woodvale Methodist Church we were reminded of his devotion to his late wife Molly, to his family and also to his community in the Shankill.

The speaker was Rev Jim Rea, who was from the area and had known Joe for many years.  I was especially interested to hear him speak of the fact that Joe and his wife had been converted many years ago at the Old Forge Mission Hall and had then attended a Pentecostal church in Nixon Street.  In later years Joe had drifted away from the Lord but towards the end of his life he came back to that first faith in the Saviour.

Jim Rea presented the gospel very clearly, with reference to aspects of Joe's life as a bus driver, an AA man and a councillor.  In the course of his message he spoke of an occasion many years ago when Joe worked as a bus driver and had driven a party on a visit to Ballyclare.  The passengers spent some time in a public house and when it was time to drive them back to Belfast Joe had to go and get them out of the pub, telling them it was time to leave.  They said they would only leave if he sang something and Joe duly sang The Old Rugged Cross.  Apparently there was not a dry eye when he finished singing.  We sang that lovely old hymn at the end of the service this morning.

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,

The emblem of suffering and shame;

And I love that old cross where the dearest and best

For a world of lost sinners was slain.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross

Till my trophies at last I lay down,

I will cling to the old rugged cross,

And exchange it some day for a crown.

O, the old rugged cross, so despised by the world,

Has a wondrous attraction for me;

For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above

To bear it to dark Calvary.

In the old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,

A wondrous beauty I see;

For 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died

To pardon and sanctify me.

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true,

Its shame and reproach gladly bear;

Then He'll call me some day to my home far away,

Where His glory for ever I'll share.

The human cost of alcohol abuse

Today it was reported  in the local press that a 55 year old man from Portadown had died from inhalation of gastric contents due to acute acohol intoxication combined with the use of diazepan and chlorpromazine.

The drunk man who had also taken sedatives died after choking on his own vomit, an inquest has ruled.

The deceased was discovered lying on his bed at home after his family raised the alarm as he had not been seen for several days.

We hear from time to time of the financial cost to our society as a result of alcohol abuse but that is only part of the picture.

There are too many instances such as this where lives are cut short in sad and tragic circumstances because of the abuse of alcohol and such incidents are a reminder of the need for our society to address the problem of alcohol abuse honestly and realistically.

SDLP in disarray on 'gay marriage' (2)

This morning the Irish News reports a further development in the SDLP story.

Councillor Pat McCarthy from South Belfast, one of the two SDLP councillors who did not back a 'gay marriage' motion at Belfast City Council, has hit out at his South Belfast colleague for suggesting that he should be disciplined.

McCarthy, a former Lord Mayor, said, 'I certainly broke no party rules.  There is no policy on 'gay marriage'.  Policy is made at conference and between conferences the body responsible for making policy is the party executive.  I sit on the party executive and 'gay marriage' has never been raised.'

The SDLP is clearly concerned about the controversy and both party leader Alasdair McDonnell and deputy leader Dolores Kelly have moved to clarify party policy after Conall McDevitt claimed that the party was '100 per cent' behind moves to legalise 'gay marriage'.  In what the Irish News describes as a 'clear rebuttal' McDonnell said that McDevitt was 'maybe playing to the gallery' at the Gay Pride event by making the 'exaggerated' claim. 

Meanwhile Dolores Kelly has revealed that the issue was discussed at a meeting of SDLP MLAs in June and 'the view was that the party as a whole would support 'gay marriage' as the SDLP is a party of equality.'  However members could abstain on grounds of conscience if a vote was taken at a council, Assembly or Westminster. 

This disclosure will now put pressure on SDLP MLAs to state how they voted at the meeting, if indeed there was a vote, and where they stand on the issue.  There will also be pressure for SDLP councillors and MPs to state their position.

Of course at the end of the day, as stated by Pat McCarthy, it is the party conference and the party executive which determine party policy, not the Assembly group. 

The SDLP is already troubled by deep divisions and this latest controversy over 'gay marriage' will only make the situation even worse.