A MOTION to grant the freedom of Limavady to a clergyman who was forced out of the town in the '80s has not received enough support to proceed.The Rev David Armstrong received death threats after he crossed the road from his church to the Catholic Church of Christ the King to wish Fr Kevin Mullan and his parishioners Yuletide greetings in 1984.
The threat from loyalist paramilitaries became so great he was forced to leave the town with his wife and four children.
He later retrained as an Anglican minister and is now situated in a Church of Ireland parish in Co Cork.
Last night at Limavady Borough Council an SDLP-sponsored motion to give the freedom of the town to both of the clergymen split a special meeting of councillors along party lines.
Five Sinn Fein and three SDLP councillors supported the motion while six unionists - two each from the DUP, UUP and UU – opposed it.
DUP councillor George Robinson said the motion had required votes from two-thirds of councillors, 10 in total, to proceed.
"I did not vote against this on sectarian or bigoted grounds but out of principle on precedent and fairness," he said.
"If you confer the freedom of the borough on two men of the cloth then you equally have to consider other clerics in the area who have done sterling work throughout the Troubles.
"Many of them ministered to people affected by events like the Droppin Well bombing and the Greysteele atrocity and worked hard to bring the communities together throughout the Troubles.
"There were also the ambulance crews, doctors, nurses and other emergency services who helped at events like that – where does it end?"
Mr Robinson said the former chief executive of the council had always advised caution about giving the freedom of the borough for similar reasons.
"It is nothing personal against either of the gentlemen concerned," said the DUP councillor.
Only the SDLP and Sinn Fein spoke during the meeting, he said, as unionists did not want to "inflame" the situation.
But SDLP councillor Michael Coyle, who proposed the motion, said he was disappointed that unionists "didn't even enter into debate".
"It shows they don't want peace and reconciliation in the north," he said.
"It was very disappointing how this night worked out.
"What sort of signal does this send out to the world about this area when we are looking for investment to compensate for the recent closure of the Seagate factory?"
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++The threat from loyalist paramilitaries became so great he was forced to leave the town with his wife and four children.
He later retrained as an Anglican minister and is now situated in a Church of Ireland parish in Co Cork.
Last night at Limavady Borough Council an SDLP-sponsored motion to give the freedom of the town to both of the clergymen split a special meeting of councillors along party lines.
Five Sinn Fein and three SDLP councillors supported the motion while six unionists - two each from the DUP, UUP and UU – opposed it.
DUP councillor George Robinson said the motion had required votes from two-thirds of councillors, 10 in total, to proceed.
"I did not vote against this on sectarian or bigoted grounds but out of principle on precedent and fairness," he said.
"If you confer the freedom of the borough on two men of the cloth then you equally have to consider other clerics in the area who have done sterling work throughout the Troubles.
"Many of them ministered to people affected by events like the Droppin Well bombing and the Greysteele atrocity and worked hard to bring the communities together throughout the Troubles.
"There were also the ambulance crews, doctors, nurses and other emergency services who helped at events like that – where does it end?"
Mr Robinson said the former chief executive of the council had always advised caution about giving the freedom of the borough for similar reasons.
"It is nothing personal against either of the gentlemen concerned," said the DUP councillor.
Only the SDLP and Sinn Fein spoke during the meeting, he said, as unionists did not want to "inflame" the situation.
But SDLP councillor Michael Coyle, who proposed the motion, said he was disappointed that unionists "didn't even enter into debate".
"It shows they don't want peace and reconciliation in the north," he said.
"It was very disappointing how this night worked out.
"What sort of signal does this send out to the world about this area when we are looking for investment to compensate for the recent closure of the Seagate factory?"
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce
(Source: BT)