FAIR Memorial Service Kingsmills
Families Acting for Innocent Relatives (FAIR) paid tribute to the victims of the Kingsmills Massacre with a solemn memorial service in South Armagh. The event aimed to remember and honor the innocent lives lost during this atrocity, as well as to raise awareness about the ongoing pursuit of justice for the affected families.
The Kingsmills Massacre, which occurred in 1976, left a lasting impact on the community, as 10 innocent Protestant workers were brutally murdered by the PIRA while traveling home from work. To this day, justice has not been realised for the families affected by this senseless act of violence.
FAIR, a dedicated victims group committed to supporting those who have suffered from terrorism-related incidents, organised this memorial service to bring together the affected families, friends, and community members. The event provided an opportunity for collective reflection, healing, and solidarity.
The memorial service included representatives of FAIR, local community leaders, and family members directly affected by the Kingsmills Massacre. A moment of silence was observed to honour the memory of the victims, and attendees had the opportunity to lay flowers and wreaths in remembrance. A wreath was laid by FAIR Chairman and members of the group.
FAIR spokesperson stated, "The Kingsmills Massacre is a painful chapter in our history that continues to resonate with the affected families and the wider community. This memorial service was not only a tribute to the lives lost but also a call for justice and accountability. FAIR remains committed to supporting the affected families in their pursuit of truth and closure."
Members of the media were invited to attend the memorial service, which took place at Whitecross in South Armagh.
Kingsmills Massacre Memorial 2024
A memorial service for the 48th anniversary of the Kingsmill massacre was organised this morning by FAIR at the memorial erected to mark the victims of one of Northern Ireland's worst atrocities.
The lonely roadside in south Armagh was where 10 innocent Protestant workers were shot dead on a dark January evening as they returned home from work in 1976.
The memorial service was conducted by Rev Graham Middleton who expressed his “privilege and an honour” to take the service, and expressed his solidarity and support for the families.
The 48th Kingsmill Anniversary Remembrance service for the Kingsmill shootings at the memorial wall outside Whitecross in Co. Armagh. 10 Protestant men were shot dead by republicans after their work van was pulled in January 1976. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye
Speaking at the memorial he said
“I guarantee you each one of those families, to each one of them, it’s just like yesterday because it’s still raw," he went on to speak of the comfort of God for those families many of whom were present.
The terrorist ambush had been carefully prepared with multiple killers taking part alongside support teams and scouts. It was not as some alleged a knee-jerk reaction to recent events, nor was it as the PIRA tried to claim an operation carried out by another group. It was a cold calculated act of sectarian barbarity against the minority Protestant population of South Armagh, part of a wider campaign to ethnically cleanse the entire border area of Protestants. That night the men were asked their religion, fearing it was the sole Roman Catholic who was the target they tried to protect him but the terrorists ordered him to flee the scene before murdering the remaining Protestants.
The 11 remaining men to line up outside the van before opening fire, those not killed in the initial hail of gunfire were systematically executed as they lay injured on the ground. Alan Black was the sole survivor, who despite being riddled with bullets lived as the bodies of his workmates covered him.
Family members of those killed during the Kingsmill Massacre laid flowers below plaques bearing the names and ages of the victims.
Jacqueline Semple’s brother Kenneth Worton one of the 10 men killed in the attack.
He was 24 at the time and Ms Semple was 22. She said losing her brother was “terrible”.
“There was five of us in the family and we just played normally and had a normal good upbringing and this was just devastation. Never in your wildest dreams – such a tragedy,”
“It was just hard. I was a bridesmaid at his wedding and then he was my best man and, like, there’s only really a year and a half between the two of us and we were so close.”
Ms Semple said it was “raw” to return to the site of the ambush.
“You have to be here. You know, it’s 48 years now and we’re coming here 48 years,... I’m not one for graveyards. I mean, they’re up there, they’re in your heart. But this is nice to have somewhere to go.”
Mourners sang a hymn and a two-minute silence was observed
As the 50th anniversary of the attack approaches, Ms Semple said her family will always remember Mr Worton.
“We speak about him all the day, his photograph’s up, we’re always talking about him.
“And then his two daughters, they were only six and three, and it’s just, it’s a brother, you’ve lost as a whole.
“This was a big thing, like, in 76. I mean, it felt like something out of a different country.
“It brings it all up. It’s hard. It’s hard. He’s always there. He’s always mentioned. Never forget, until the day we die.”
Edgar Graham Anniversary
As we reflect this week on the murder of Human Rights Lawyer Edgar Graham 40 years ago we wonder what his thoughts would have been on the recent Legacy Legislation. We hear much about the killing of so-called human rights lawyers by loyalist paramilitaries, however little has been said and few inquiries have been launched into the serial murder of legal and judicial figures by the PIRA. Edgar Graham was first and foremost a lawyer, an academic and expert who pioneered human rights law in Northern Ireland. In his human rights work Edgar dedicated many hours to working on advancing an application to the European Commission of Human Rights on behalf of 32 applicants, most of whom were widows from the border areas of Northern Ireland and victims of what amounted to an ethnic cleansing of Protestant residents.
A Rising Star
Educated at Ballymena Academy, he graduated with a law degree at Queen's University Belfast (QUB) in 1976, and pursued postgraduate study at Trinity College, Oxford, from 1976. In 1975 Graham was vice-chair of the Queen's University Conservative and Unionist Association; in 1978 during his studies at Cambridge he joined the centre-right Bow group within the Conservative party. In 1979 he became lecturer in constitutional and European Community law at QUB and at the time of his death he was completing a doctorate. Edgar was called to the Northern Ireland bar in 1980, and swiftly established an outstanding reputation. He was assistant editor of the Bulletin of Northern Ireland Law, and in 1982 a fellow in European law at the Salzburg seminar. He made legal submissions to the European Commission of Human Rights on behalf of the widows of victims of terrorism. He published a pamphlet denouncing the Republic of Ireland's unwillingness to extradite terrorist suspects; at the time of his death he was completing another on Sinn Féin's links to paramilitarism, calling for the party to be proscribed and its leaders prosecuted.
He pioneered the use of new and innovative legal avenues to tackle terrorism. As an outspoken defender of the supergrass system, provided the court knew the terms of the deal between state and witness, he pointed to its effective use against the Italian Mafia, and attacked the ‘sophisticated propaganda campaign’ against it.
However it is for his visionary use of Human Rights Law and the European Court of Human Rights to challenge terrorism for which we remember him. He was the first to define and condemn the actions of the PIRA as abuse of Human Rights forming the European Human Rights Unit which represented the case of victims of terrorism for the first time presenting cases to the European Human Rights Commission and United Nations Human Rights secretariat. Alongside local MP Harold McCusker he focused on South Armagh to build his case and exposed the sectarian nature of the PIRA's campaign as well as at the collusion and complicity of the Irish Government in terms of their failure to extradite terrorists.
Speaking in the Northern Ireland Assembly months before he was murdered he was one of the first to use the term 'genocide' for what was happening to border Protestants. In an article in the Belfast News letter in February 1983 we read:
"IRA in ‘campaign of genocide on border’ THE Provisional IRA has mounted a campaign of genocide against the Protestant population in Ulster’s border areas, ‘the Assembly heard yesterday. South Belfast Official Unionist member Edgar Graham said the republican terrorist group was bent on eradicating a particular group of people simply because of their religion. He said many of the group's victims in the border areas had simply been killed because they were Protestants, not because they were members of the security forces. Mr Graham was putting forward a motion condemning Eire's attitude to extradition. It also called on the Government to press the Eire Government to introduce extradition and not to accept any substitute. Mr Graham claimed that extradition was the one major obstacie to the defeat of terrorism in Ireland and it was about time the Eire Government woke up to its responsibilities."
He championed the case of Edith Elliott whose husband George Elliott and brother Jack Donnelly had both been murdered along with over 30 other cases as they exposed the human rights abuses suffered by victims. It was obvious that framing the Troubles in terms of Human Rights was the most potent weapon against terrorism.
The light of that truth and with the effective operation of justice there was real hope that in the early 1980s we could have seen an end to the violence. As a campaign was launched in Europe, the United States and internationally with lawyers taking the lead there was a real hope of truth and justice securing a real peace here. We believe that such was the threat to terrorist organisations of this victims centred lawyer led approach that they determined to kill it at birth. The murder of Edgar Graham who was the brains behind the new strategy and the acceptance by the British Government of the Anglo Irish Agreement effectively killed the initiative. Sadly the unionist community were distracted for almost 15 years and in that time it was the terrorists who took up the tools and terminology of human rights. They literally killed Northern Ireland's human rights lawyer and stole his ideas. We have seen the sickening irony since of generations of lawyers twisting Human Rights to suit the cause and support the actions of terrorism.
It was only in 1998 with the Long March and the foundation of victims groups led by FAIR that real victims rediscovered the value of Human Rights to frame their case. Many of the same victims supported by Edgar Graham joined FAIR and the research around Human Rights abuses and Extradition which was was secured by Edgar in the 1980s was handed over to FAIR's Research and Policy Unit forming the foundation of our work. It was taken forward and formed the basis of what we termed LAWFARE and once more helped victims secure truth and justice. We pay tribute to the life and work of Edgar Graham, the vision he had of supporting victims and securing justice. We continue that work today and are proud to carry on what he started over 40 years ago. As his headstone and memorial in Stormont says
Attack upon the Rule of Law
We must remember that central to the PIRA terrorist strategy was an assault upon not only the police but the judiciary and legal profession. Attack on court houses and their staff as well as widespread witness intimidation and wholesale efforts to subvert the criminal justice system was part and parcel of their strategy. Other senior legal figures murdered include:
- 11th of October 1972 - Resident Magistrate William Staunton, a Catholic, shot dead on the as he drove his daughter, Sally-Ann, to St. Dominic’s convent grammar school on the Falls Road.
- 16th of September 1974, Judge Rory Conaghan, a Catholic, murdered at his home in front of his 9 year old daughter, Deirdre.
- 16th of September 1974, Resident Magistrate Martin McBirney, a Protestant, at his home in front of his family.
- 16th of January, 1983, Judge William Doyle was murdered by the IRA as he came out of Mass in St. Brigid’s Catholic church on Derryvolgie Avenue in Belfast
- 28th of April, 1987, the IRA murdered 73-year-old Appeal Justice Maurice Gibson and his wife Cecily by bombing their car at the border, with collusion between the IRA and the Irish police, An Garda Siochana
- 23rd of July, 1988, in a repeat attack the PIRA tried to murder Catholic Justice Eoin Higgins and his wife but instead killed the entire innocent Hanna family.
The story of his Life and Death
An excellent article and series of podcasts by the Belfast Telegraph have highlighted the the PIRA murder of Edgar Graham a true human rights lawyer whose vision for Northern Ireland was cruelly cut short. In his own words we hear him highlighting the plight of border farmers who themselves lived under threat of assassination. In the chilling account of the murder of this bright young man.
Edgar Graham was just 29 years old when the IRA gunned him down on the street at Queen’s University in south Belfast.
The young law lecturer and unionist politician had a brilliant mind and was widely believed to be a future leader of the Ulster Unionist Party. David Trimble said he’d never have been Ulster Unionist leader if Edgar had lived.
Forty years after a crime which even by the standards of the Troubles shocked Northern Ireland, Sam McBride investigates why the IRA targeted him, whether he was set up by a colleague, and where this lost leader of unionism might have led Northern Ireland.
In this BelTel special documentary, Edgar’s friend Dermot Nesbitt, who was standing beside him when he was killed, revisits the scene for the first time in 20 years as he and others who knew Edgar well tell his story.
Killing Edgar: The IRA murder of Edgar Graham (part one)
Edgar Graham didn’t stand a chance. A gunman approached him from behind, shooting him dead just yards from the law faculty at Queen’s University where he worked.
At just 29, he was one of the most outstanding politicians the Ulster Unionist Party had ever produced and overwhelmingly likely to be a future party leader.
How would he have changed Northern Ireland if he had gone on to lead unionism?
The IRA immediately admitted responsibility for his murder, but why was he singled out?
And Sam McBride tracks down a fellow law lecturer accused of helping the IRA to target Edgar. He hears his first direct comments on the accusations in the 40 years since the killing.
Killing Edgar: The impact of the IRA murder of Edgar Graham (Part two)
Sammy Hamilton's Story
Sam Malcolmson
Sam had joined the police force in 1969 as a young man and because he had served only three years when he was shot, he has suffered with life changing injuries for five decades surviving on the lowest pension. He has been involved with FAIR since 1998 often at the forefront of campaigns to expose the injustice and inequality faced by many former police officers. His advocacy work for victims has spanned the decades when he founded the Disabled Police Officers' Association (DPOA).
“Pain can leave you sometimes very depressed and in a bad mood” His family have had to live with this, but he is very grateful of their support over the years. “To date we’ve survived, a lot of that is down to the guidance of my wife” Saml Malcolmson
He has been a consistent voice for victims often telling his own painful story to highlight the wider suffering of victims and the absence of justice or truth from the PIRA who were behind the attempt to murder him and his colleague in 1972. FAIR featured Sam's story in their powerful video presentation of victims stories.
Injured In The Troubles - Sam Malcolmson from Northern Visions NvTv on Vimeo.
A powerful video interview with Sam recorded for Our Generation Injured In The Troubles Samuel Malcolmson
Marie Breen-Smyth, Associate Dean International, University of Surrey, talks to Samuel Malcolmson about the injuries he received in a terrorist attack and how it’s effected his life.
In 1972 Samuel Malcolmson was stationed in Crossmaglen in South Armagh when he and a colleague drove into an ambush, they were both shot in the back but they manged to make it back to their Police Station because of the driver, even though he too was shot “I do owe my life to him because he was able to control the car to the police station, I think he was just about to pass out, he actually crashed into the gates”
He remembers being injected with morphine by the local doctor. “I didn’t think you could suffer so much pain, and then I can remember on the way down to the hospital in the ambulance the attendant was trying to keep us on the plinths as they were going around the twisty roads and then after that I don’t remember anything”
Samuel was airlifted to the Royal Hospital in Belfast were he spent nine months. “My two legs were out of action for quite a while, but then lucky enough one of my legs came back to full use but the left leg is now left with paralysis, I excepted the fact that somebody shot me, I was a legitimate target in his eyes but the one thing I could never except was weeks later when my father had to come up to the hospital and tell me that my mum had dropped dead at my bedside, that was the hardest thing to take and to this day him and I can not talk about this incident”
Samuel now suffers from severe back pains and shooting pains up and down his leg, he has to use elbow crutches to walk long distances. “The home and the car are my life, as far as walking is concerned I would do as little as possible because it triggers the pain”
Samuel still thinks about the man who did this to him. “I still want to meet the person who pulled the trigger and I’m convinced I know him, circumstances would narrow it down to a couple of people, there’s not a day in life that goes by were I don’t think of that person, when he and the person with him shot me. The following day when my mum dropped dead beside my bed, did he think ‘I’ve gone to far here I didn’t mean for an innocent person to suffer’ I was a legitimate target in his eyes but did his conscience have a twinge and did he think, ‘There’s a family left now without a mum’ or did he think ‘No that’s even better than I thought, I went out to get two cops and I’ve got three people, I’ve ruined their lives in different ways’ so I still want to meet that person, I want to sit eye to eye and talk to them”
Although it has effected his everyday life, Samuel is still determined to keep a level of independence.
Joe McCullough
Joseph (Joe) McCullough who was murdered by Provisional IRA terrorists on 26 th February 1976
Joseph McCullough was a fifty-seven year old farmer and part-time member of the Ulster Defence Regiment. He was also a member of the Tullyvallen Orange Lodge, and lived on a small farm on the Castleblayney Road, Newtownhamilton.
who was stabbed to death by the Provisional IRA. His body was found a day later near his home.
Joe was staying with neighbours to avoid an attack as it had became clear that the PRA was systematically targeting members of his UDR company. On the day that Joseph was murdered, he had returned to his home in the evening to feed his dog. But an IRA gang were lying in wait to ambush him, and after stabbing him five times, they finished him off by twice cutting his throat. When he didn’t return, his neighbours went to Joseph’s farm and found him in the laneway. Joseph had sustained stab wounds to the head and neck. The nature of this murder was distinct and horrific it was a close quarters frenzied killing, which gives us some indication of the psychology of the killer. However this was not a random murder Joseph McCullough was the seventh person from Tullyvallen, in seven months, to be murdered by South Armagh PIRA, in their campaign of sectarian terrorism.
Joe was a member of the Orange Order and chaplain of Tullyvallen Orange Lodge. As a member of the Guiding Star Temperance Lodge, a couple of months earlier he’d been out on UDR patrol when the IRA attacked a meeting of the lodge at Tullyvallen, shooting dead five men, none of them in the security forces. Having narrowly missed becoming a victims of the Tullyvallan Massacre Joe would have know the risks of continuing to live and farm in the area. However like many of his friends and colleagues he was determined not to be driven off his land. Sadly he wasn’t the first of his family to be murdered by the IRA. A cousin, William Meaklin, had some time earlier been abducted from his mobile shop near Crossmaglen, tortured and murdered.
The message was clear to the isolated Protestant community - "YOU will be Next". However despite the risks and loss of loved ones and comrades these brave men held their ground, donned the uniform of the UDR and continued to defend their community.
Disabled Veterans’ Scholarships Fund
A scholarship fund supporting injured or disabled veterans and backed by the Veterans' Foundation is now open for applications for the new academic year.
The Disabled Veterans’ Scholarships Fund (DVSF) provides free education at The Open University (OU) for veterans injured or disabled during military service. There are 50 places available to start study in Autumn 2023 and applications close on Wednesday 5th July.
Of the two million armed forces veterans living in the UK, more than four in ten (44%) veterans who have a disability reported that they found the experience of finding the right job role as ‘difficult’.
Since it launched in 2018, the DVSF has awarded 262 scholarships to study at the OU and has helped veterans from a variety of different service backgrounds, and across the four home nations, who have physical or mental health challenges as a result of their time in the military.
One such veteran is Stuart Lawson, who was the recipient of a Disabled Veterans scholarship after serving in the Army for 19 years.
When a terrible accident turned his world upside down, Stuart was medically discharged from the Army and had to leave behind the only world he knew.
It was while undergoing gruelling rehabilitation that Stuart set himself a new goal to work towards – becoming a History teacher.
“The career I loved had been brought to a sudden halt," said Stuart,
"The military was my life. I was distraught and felt my life was meaningless. I had never been academic, didn’t enjoy my schooling and so I thought I didn’t stand a chance of being accepted.
But when the OU awarded me a scholarship, I just thought ‘Wow!’, I was so happy. It gave me a purpose."
"I still suffer from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) from my horrific accident and suffer from anxiety,” explained Stuart.
“I also still react to loud noises. But the OU has been really supportive in all this.
I want to send a huge thank you to the OU’s alumni and donors for giving me a chance to not just change my own life, but also to help educate and inspire my pupils of the future."
Successful applicants for the scholarship will receive full fee waivers for 120 credits per year and up to 360 credits in total, which is equivalent to a full honours degree.
It is deliberately flexible, and can be applied across both, undergraduate and post-graduate study, including access modules which are the OU’s short introductory courses.
Students will also have access to an expert team of specialist advisors who can help with disability and careers support.
Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Johnny Mercer said: "Veterans leave service with real skills and values that can't be gained elsewhere. I am delighted to see the continuation of the Open University grant programme, that gives our disabled veterans new avenues to explore, and doors to go through, as they adapt and bring the skills they have to the forefront of new opportunities post service."
Jhumar Johnson, Chief of Staff to the Vice-Chancellor at the OU, commented: “It is thanks to our generous donors that we are able to invite applications for our Disabled Veterans’ Scholarships Fund for the fifth year. The OU are experts at delivering education to students with disabilities and health challenges and we are delighted to be able to offer this potentially life-changing opportunity to veterans.”
The OU and its partners are hoping to attract applications from a broad range of disabled veterans who can take full advantage of this fantastic opportunity to build their confidence, skills, knowledge, and experience to thrive in employment and their communities.
Learn more and apply for your place before midnight on 5 July 2023.
Disabled Veterans' Scholarships | How to Pay | Open University
Veterans Mental Health
Mental health and suicide prevention training
Danny Kinahan, Veterans Commissioner with Alison Campbell, course trainer
The Commissioner’s Office, in conjunction with Rainbow Bright Training, is currently facilitating a number of mental health and suicide awareness training sessions to members of Royal British Legion branches, Ulster Defence Regiment and Royal Irish Associations.
Many veterans experience poor mental health and reaching out can be difficult because, despite many advances, there is still a stigma attached to the whole area of mental health.
Here in Northern Ireland we have our own bespoke circumstances where many veterans are reliving their lived trauma as they still live in their conflict zone. Research conducted in Northern Ireland by the Mental Health Foundation in 2016 show’s poor mental health is 25% more prevalent than that of England by comparison. What is also interesting to note, further research by the Mental Health Foundation found that young veterans are at a higher risk of suicide in the first 2 years after they leave service.
In this course, participants will learn the following:
– The factors that contribute to poor mental health, emotional distress, and suicide.
– The relevance of mental health and emotions to the prevention of suicide.
– A Mental Health First Responder Connect 4-Ways Model.
– Tools and resources for support.
– How to fortify life through self-care.
It is intended that this training programme will support us in our goal to reduce isolation and improve mental health outcomes for veterans and families of veterans through best practice in this field.
The next training sessions will take place on the following dates:
Tandragee Veterans Centre: Friday 21 April 23
Lisburn Royal British Legion: Friday 19 May 23
Limavady Services Club: Friday 9 June 23
If interested in participating in this training, please contact our office via email: commissioner@nivco.co.uk or Telephone: 07971833160
Supporting ‘The Greenfinches’.
NI Veterans Commissioner supports ‘The Greenfinches’.
I was disappointed, but unfortunately not surprised, to learn that Sinn Fein representatives on Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council have lodged a ‘call in’ legal challenge to a motion passed by a majority of councillors to pay tribute to the women who served in the the Ulster Defence Regiment, commonly known as the Greenfinches. This summer will mark the 50th anniversary since the first female recruits joined the ranks of the Ulster Defence Regiment. As Veterans Commissioner I will continue to call out this ongoing denigration and demonisation of our Armed Services and veterans, and will call out the misogyny of not recognising the important work of women in our Armed Forces, of which the Greenfinches were instrumental in contributing and expanding the roles available to women in supporting Operations.
Over the course of 22 years, 60,000 men and women wore the uniform of the Ulster Defence Regiment to help protect innocent civilians against the harm of terrorists that brought chaos and murder to our streets during the Troubles. These brave men and women did so with the understanding that their service placed them at risk every hour of every day – there was no respite on duty or off duty or even after they left the Regiment. Greenfinches were an important, unarmed part of providing this protection and sadly, there is a long Roll of Honour for those members of the Regiment who lost their lives at the hands of terrorism, of which four were Greenfinches. In total, 197 UDR soldiers and Greenfinches were killed both on and off duty, as well as over 60 killed after leaving the Regiment. Over 400 were seriously wounded and many still continue to suffer both psychologically and physically as a result of their service.
The brave men and women who served with the Ulster Defence Regiment, did so with great honour and dignity and stood against terrorism and all its horrors, on behalf of all society. I importantly note how families were impacted by terrorism, needing to check cars for bombs before getting in, and worried incase their loved ones might not return home after their shift. Many unfortunately still bear the pain of losing family members, whether as a member of the security services or indeed families from the innocent civilian population.
In 2006, when Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, came to Belfast to present the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross to the Ulster Defence Regiment she said that the contribution of the Regiment to peace and stability within Northern Ireland had been unique and had required ‘uncommon courage and conviction’. Her Majesty reflected that ‘no challenge faced by the Ulster Defence Regiment went unmet, whatever the personal cost’.
Society should know and have the opportunity to recognise the extraordinary contribution these men and women have already made – and how they continue to do so to the present day.
I will recall one verse from a poem entitled ‘WUDR’, first published in 1983, that aptly summarises who the Greenfinches were:
‘We are the girls of the WUDR, Greenfinches is our common name,
But not one girl in the WUDR, is seeking fame or fortune,
For everyone in the WUDR, is willing to give a helping hand,
To help our country in its fight, and bring peace to our beloved land.’
As the voice for all veterans living in Northern Ireland, I will continue to speak up for them and again I pay tribute to the men and women who served and continue to serve in our Armed Forces, including the former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment CGC, ever remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice in serving our country. Society owes deep thanks and gratitude to all of our Armed Forces veterans and their service should never be rewritten as anything other than duty and protection against the evils of terrorism.
Danny Kinahan
NI Veterans Commissioner
14 February 2023
Ballyclare UDR Memorial
Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) Memorial at Ballyclare War Memorial Park
A UDR Memorial was unveiled in a special service of dedication at Ballyclare War Memorial Park on Thursday 27 May. The service, led by Deputy Lieutenant for County Antrim , Mr Edward Montgomery MBE, DL and Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey Councillor Jim Montgomery, paid tribute to The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1970-1992.
Amongst esteemed guests attending the service was Veterans Commissioner, Danny Kinahan DL, who was instrumental in this memorial. It was as a result of Danny’s motion to the Council in early 2020, whilst serving as an elected Member for Ballyclare and prior to taking up his new role, that the memorial was installed.
The Mayor, Councillor Jim Montgomery said; “It is fitting in the NI Centenary year that we pay tribute to this Northern Irish regiment for their years of service and the efforts they made to keep Northern Ireland safe during turbulent times. In particular, this memorial remembers all those who made the supreme sacrifice and lost their lives in and beyond service”.
Veterans Commissioner Danny Kinahan, DL added; “It is an honour to be present at the unveiling of this memorial to the Ulster Defence Regiment. Having first proposed that a memorial be established in Ballyclare during my time as a Councillor, it is a privilege to be here in my current role as Northern Ireland’s first Veterans Commissioner. It is important that this memorial highlights the tremendous contribution that the men and women of the Ulster Defence Regiment made during its 22 year history”.
In 1992, the UDR was amalgamated with the Royal Irish Rangers to form the Royal Irish Regiment. In 2006, the regiment was retroactively awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross.