Letter: Five years on, still no Northern Ireland centenary stone in place at Stormont

A very important anniversary marking the establishment of Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom on May 3, 1921. The birthday not just marked the 105th birthday of Northern Ireland but that five years have now past since Northern Ireland’s centenary and the centenary stone to be erected at Stormont is still not in place.

This meant the celebrations were tinged with a little sadness as the beautiful stone in the shape of the outline of Northern Ireland and a wonderful focal point to mark Northern Ireland's birthday has spent another year in storage.

The centenary stone is one in a long list of examples of the constant failure to deliver anything of importance for the people of Northern Ireland and by those unionists in particular that foolishly continue to be in the NI Executive at Stormont as protocol implementers that will ultimately lead to the destruction of the UK.

Belfast City Council still has to grant planning permission for the stone to be erected at Stormont and the unnecessary delay continues to show a clear bias against anything that is pro-British.

The stone is culturally, politically and symbolically important and how by any stretch of the imagination can it take five years to get permission to have it installed.

Sadly, because of the continuing culture war by nationalists and republicans against the unionist community, the snail’s pace of progress will continue.

And as the unjust delay continues, the question will get louder, asking how many more birthdays of Northern Ireland will pass before the centenary stone will finally be in place?

Stevan Patterson, Castlederg