DUP Colr. calls for republican statue to be removed from cemetery

Local DUP Councillor Graham Warke said the statue was offensive to Protestants during a discussion on potential tourism projects at Londonderry’s historic City Cemetery.

Speaking at the Council’s Business & Culture Committee meeting on Tuesday, various councillors praised the idea of developing cemetery-based tourism and suggested ideas for possible inclusion.

Londonderry City Cemetery opened in 1853 and is the final resting place of more than 70,000 inhabitants from the city including fallen soldiers from both World Wars and those who died during the Troubles.

A local historian has been progressing several City Cemetery-based tourism trail projects, the Council was told.

Alluding to a Republican monument erected in 2000 by the IRSP, Colr. Warke said people from Protestant backgrounds were being confronted with “a 10ft masked terrorist statue” when they entered the cemetery.

Sinn Fein Councillor Elisha McCallion interjected, saying: “This is ridiculous. You are trying to grandstand on an issue that has nothing to do with the issue of the day.”

Speaking afterwards, Colr. Warke said the cemetery was supposed to be a “shared space” but that Protestant people found the statue “very offensive”.

Calling for its removal, he said: “In this time and age now there is no need for a statue of a terrorist with a gun. It is time to move on”.