Lord Brookeborough is made the first Freeman of Enniskillen (1959)

​It was only since the town was created a borough some years previously that it had been entitled to have a roll of Honorary Freemen, and it is only since part of the North and East Channel which link the famous lakes, was deepened that it had been possible to sail around the town, noted the News Letter.

Before the conferring of the Freedom, which took place in heavy rain in the Broadmeadow the Prime Minister, accompanied by the Mayor of Enniskillen, members of the borough council and other local personalities, sailed along the waterway in a launch which broke a boom to open the channel.

The presence of a grey-painted police launch, which followed in the wake of the Prime Minister’s craft, prevented the successful completion of a rag planned by members of the local Round Table.

Dressed as pirates, several members of the organisation followed the official launch in decorated yachts, but their scheme to board it and hold the Prime Minister to “ransom” was spoiled by the proximity of the police escort.

Lashing rain drenched the crowds who waited on the bank of the channel, and in the sports ground, to greet the Prime Minister. Because of the weather the outdoor ceremony was curtailed, and Lord Brookeborough was not asked to sign the roll of Honorary Burgesses. He signed it later in the Town Hall.

After breaking through the boom to open the channel officially, the Prime Minister, addressing the crowds on shore through a loudhailer, mounted on the launch, said that for centuries the Erne had flooded its banks, devastating the surrounding fields and hazarding livestock and property.

He said: “Recently, however, a major hydroelectric scheme has relieved flooding round the Upper Lough Erne and has improved certain channels between the two lakes.

“Farmers in the upper reaches of the Erne will be relieved from flooding except during very heavy rainfall and only a small proportion of the cost of the scheme has fallen on local funds.”

After navigating the newly opened channel, the Prime Minister, accompanied by Lady Brookeborough, disembarked close to the Broadmeadow and and they were greeted by a fanfare of trumpets by the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards and cheered by crowds outside and inside the enclosure, Lord Brookeborough walked in procession to a specially erected platform, in front of which he inspected a guard of honour provided by the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.

Then, before many hundreds of local dignitaries and townspeople, he heard the town clerk read the resolution of the Borough Council electing him an Honorary Burgess.

The Mayor Alderman Dr W F Bryson said that it was a proud moment for the ancient borough and its citizens.

He said: “We are greatly honoured that our first Freeman is so illustrious a personality, and our feelings are not only those of respect and admiration but of real and deep affection.”

The Mayor then presented the Prime Minister with the certificate of election and admission as an Honorary Burgess, and a presentation to commemorate the occasion was made on behalf of the council to Lady Brookeborough.

After receiving the Freedom, the Prime Minister said that he felt privileged to think that only twice before in the history of the the Brookes, he said, had lived in Fermanagh for centuries and their lives had been closely interwoven with its history.

He noted, of all towns in the British Commonwealth, Enniskillen was unique in having given its name to two great regiments – the Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards and the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, “which had taken part in every important campaign in which the British Army had been engaged”.

Speaking at a civic luncheon which followed the ceremony, the Prime Minister said that the early residents who built the town had possibly two factors in mind – security and scenic beauty.

“In our own day those factors remain uppermost in the minds of the Borough Council,” he said. “Security, not so much from the ravages of marauders, but security for the citizens to earn a living in their own town. I am glad to have had a part in helping to bring new industries to Enniskillen and in changing the look of the lake here, both in the hydro-electric scheme and in the clearing of the North and East Channel, which I had the pleasure of opening this morning.

“From now, on the resident or tourist can sail all around this island township, as I did today, under its three bridges, and marvel at the clean and attractive waterway and the streets that radiate from it.”

Speaking at the annual meeting of the Fermanagh Unionist Association in Enniskillen Lord Brookeborough declared: “While we are prepared to welcome those who accept and are ready to maintain our constitutional position, we will have no truck with any who seek to use co-operation as a means of undermining our existence as part of the United Kingdom. By all means, let’s shake hands and be friends, but I must make it clear that we have no intention of- allowing ourselves to be pulled over the precipice.”

He said that in recent months there had been much talk in what might be described as “enlightened” Nationalist circles about holding out the hand of friendship to the Northern Ireland government and of co-operating within the framework of the present constitution.He said that it had also been made quite clear by some “prominently associated with this train of thought” that the objective behind recognition and co-operation was ultimately to abolish “partition” by peaceful means.