Councillor says NI centenary should be birthday party for country - ‘people tried to bomb it out of existence, and we’re still here’

Tom Smith, Independent Councillor for Bangor East and Donaghadee, said council officer proposals submitted to the 100th Anniversary of Northern Ireland Sub-committee, were “heavy on the commemoration” but “very light on celebration.”

Councillor Smith said at this week’s Corporate Committee: “I get the impression from reading the report we should celebrate the centenary because we don’t really want to offend anybody.”

“We should celebrate it. I would certainly increase the grants for local communities right across the borough to be able to celebrate the centenary of Northern Ireland.

“It’s a birthday party for this country. Many people and political parties tried to bomb it out of existence, and we’re still here. Northern Ireland is still alive and well and we should party and celebrate it.”

A proposed events schedule for the borough has an initial costing of £100,000, with proposals including a £40,000 music event and the creation of a £30,000 centenary park next summer.

Ray McKimm, Independent Councillor for Bangor Central, questioned the proposed costs for the creation of a park, stating it “seemed like a really small amount of money.”

A council officer replied the centenary report had “notional figures” and was “quite a raw calculation.” She added the centenary park in particular was “open to external funding sources.”

Other proposals include £7,000 worth of exhibitions focusing on the Andrews family and other local politicians and industrialists in the partition era. An all-year drama event has been proposed costing £4,000, and a 1920’s period costume night costing £3,000 next May.

Other suggested events include a lecture series, a church service, a Hall of Fame for local residents, burials of time capsules, walking history tours, and a fashion show showing changing trends over the past hundred years.

A £10,000 RUC event has also been mooted, with an exhibition, parade and reception in Queen’s Hall, Newtownards.

Councillor Tom Smith told the Corporate Committee: “Hopefully we will have this vaccine, and we can only act as if things will turn around. If the vaccine is working we could be in the right place at the right time to have a proper celebration – that celebration should be put to the fore.

“We’re talking about lectures, we’re talking about a church service, a 1920’s parade – that’s just going to appeal to a very narrow field of people. I know you can’t please everybody, but I think we can do more to reach out to the broadest spectrum possible.

“I am old enough to remember the Queen’s jubilee in the 1970’s, and how we were having street parties. That is what people want to see again. We have nothing to be ashamed of, and a lot to be proud of, and I for one will certainly be looking to celebrate its 100th anniversary.”

The council centenary report highlighted “All activities must be considered in the context of the Covid 19 pandemic, and in particular, the discouragement of mass gatherings.”