VE Day 80: Stormont event recalls members of NI Parliament in 1945 marking end of World War II

The programme, hosted by Assembly Speaker Edwin Poots MLA, featured reflections, readings, music, and historical insights in the Great Hall at Parliament Buildings.

Dignitaries who addressed the event included the Speaker, the Consul General of the United States of America, the Consul General of Poland, followed by a performance of wartime songs by pupils from Pond Park Primary School.

Michael Burns, Senior Researcher from the NI War Memorial, provided historical context with memories from VE Day in Belfast, while actors delivered contemporary accounts from the NI War Memorial’s oral history collection.

A moment of silence was observed and the commemoration concluded with the pupils of Pond Park Primary School singing "We'll Meet Again".

A special exhibition of artefacts related to the Second World War and VE Day, provided by the War Memorial Museum NI, the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), and the Linen Hall Library, was on display in the Senate Chamber and Senate Rotunda.

Mr Poots said: "In 1945, the then Speaker of the Northern Ireland Parliament gathered Members in the Great Hall for a service of thanksgiving to mark VE Day.

“I was therefore honoured to gather Members in the Great Hall today to mark the 80th anniversary to remember the sacrifices made during the Second World War and to celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

“It is essential that we formally mark this occasion at the Assembly as the freedoms that were defended and protected then, remain important to this day.

“It is particularly fitting that we involved the pupils of Pond Park Primary School, in this event, ensuring that the lessons of the past continue to resonate with future generations.

“As well as this, the exhibition of artefacts from the War Memorial Museum, PRONI, and the Linen Hall Library gave us a valuable and tangible connection to this pivotal moment in our history.”