Ahead of the Ulster Covenant Parade and centenary dinner which take place on Friday and Saturday, NI Conservatives’ spokesman, Trevor Ringland, expressed the hope that “everyone has a great weekend, enjoys the celebrations and uses this opportunity to consider the history which we share and how far we’ve come in the past 100 years.”
“The Ulster Covenant was an important milestone in a turbulent period of history, which culminated in the formation of Northern Ireland”, Trevor commented. “That was a political settlement for a divided people and, one hundred years on, we should reflect upon how far we have come, at a time when so many people, from across the various communities here, feel comfortable identifying themselves as Northern Irish. Relationships north and south of the border and east and west of the Irish Sea have also improved and we should attempt to strengthen them further.”
“That’s something worth celebrating and I hope that everyone attending the events over the weekend enjoys them thoroughly, and in a manner which is respectful of other traditions, identities and interpretations of history.”
“We must always be careful that none of the centenaries which take place over the next ten years become a pretext for re-opening the divisions of the past, at a time when we’re striving to create a shared future in Northern Ireland. And we must also make sure that the feelings stirred up by emotive historical events aren’t used to drag politics here backwards. The idea, implied by the joint statement released by Peter Robinson and Mike Nesbitt, that the Covenant celebrations should encourage ‘unionist unity’ and a retreat into single, sectarian political blocs, is very dangerous.”
“While we do not always agree on our history we do share it and it is important that the emphasis during the events should be on respecting our differences, celebrating what does draw us together and examining how we can build stronger relationships for the future.”