Queen’s Jubilee help call passed by Council in Derry & Strabane

DUP Alderman McClintock, who brought the motion forward with party colleague Alderman Maurice Devenney at the recent Full Council meeting, said: “The Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen is, for a sizeable number of people in this district, a momentous occasion. It is an historic occasion never before known in this country to have a monarch on the throne for such a period of time. The events will be taking place over the extended Bank Holiday weekend which will be from Thursday, June 2 to Sunday, June 5 and that’s national events.

“This event doesn’t fit into the normal Decade of Centenary events programme as a Platinum Jubilee marks the 70th anniversary of the succession to the throne. I’m not in any way suggesting that council organise events to mark the occasion but rather they accommodate where possible and appropriate any in kind requests for assistance from organisers. I would also like to request that council seek to identify if there are any possible pots of funding and mechanisms that local community groups might be able to apply to and utilise for their own local celebrations.”

Ald McClintock said that ‘in the interest of good community relations and celebrating the cultural diversity of our residents that every effort be made to enable those who wish to celebrate to do so’.

Independent Colr. Gary Donnelly called the motion ‘an absolute disgrace’. He said: “The previous speaker says that many people here want to celebrate this. Many, many more people in this city will see this as divisive and toxic and no self respecting socialist or republican can have any truck with this.”

He urged that Council should ‘not in any way have anything to do with this given that on this week it is the 50th anniversary of the murder of unarmed civil rights marchers’ in Derry, and that some involved in the operation on Bloody Sunday were later decorated by the Queen.

SDLP Colr. Martin Reilly supported the motion saying: “I’m conscious of the week we are in but I’m also conscious about what we said earlier in relation to the need to be sensitive and respectful here and being respectful of the fact that for many citizens across our council area this Jubilee will be of significance to them and their families. In the spirit of that approach taken in the Decade of Centenary events in the past, this council has led the way in relation to how we deal with such events in a way that is respectful and it should be open to any interested community groups to celebrate an important date in their calendar.”

Sinn Fein Colr. Paul Fleming said his party would abstain. “On behalf of Sinn Fein we are very conscious of the week and the long campaign for justice that the Bloody Sunday families have had against the opposition both in England and here locally. 

“As a party we recognise and respect that many people here hold the British royal family in high esteem and wish to celebrate the Jubilee. However, there are many others who feel very differently, not least because of the British royal family’s long standing links to the British military. As a council we do have a duty to ensure everyone’s rights are respected.”

Describing the monarchy as ‘a relic of the past’, People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin said he didn’t think council ‘should be playing any role in promoting the monarchy’ adding: “We understand that there are some people who will certainly celebrate the Queen’s jubilee and they are welcome to do that but I don’t believe that the council should be involved in funding that.”

UUP Ald. Ryan McCready spoke of the ‘massive step forward’ council had taken with the debate, in particular he gave credit to both Sinn Fein and the SDLP: “When you look at Sinn Fein, it’s very easy for them to oppose this on lots and lots of grounds, so for them not to support it but to abstain and not deny someone else access to something they subscribe to, I note that,” he said. “Similarly with the SDLP, they are more assertive in the way they do it because of their policies and I welcome that. Sometimes tolerance is about acknowledging that other people do things differently and maybe allowing them to have access to that.”

Agreeing, Alliance Colr. Rachael Ferguson added: “It isn’t a conversation about whether you like or dislike the royal family, it is the conversation on allowing those people and residents who do subscribe to it to have access to council resources to try and organise events and that’s the way forward.”

SDLP Colr. John Boyle asked his fellow councillors to ‘reflect’ on them before voting. He said: “If I can cast my mind back to my own former party leader John Hume when he accepted the Nobel Peace prize on behalf of everybody in this city he said: ‘Difference is the essence of humanity, difference is an accident of birth and it should therefore never be the source of hatred or conflict’. Therein lies the most fundamental principle of peace – respect for diversity.”

The motion passed with 18 votes for, 4 against and 12 abstentions.

Gillian Anderson

Local Democracy Reporter