Member's statement: New Irish Arts: 30th Anniversary
Member's statement by Mr Stephen Dunne on .
- MLA
- Mr Stephen Dunne
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 30 September 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- New Irish Arts: 30th Anniversary
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4563425
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I congratulate New Irish Arts on celebrating its 30th anniversary at the weekend with two very special performances at the Waterfront Hall. For over three decades, the New Irish Arts group has been equipping and giving opportunities to musicians, churches and organisations right across the country and beyond. New Irish Arts was set up in 1994 by renowned local hymn writer and musician Keith Getty, who has gone on to achieve incredible success around the world and is a great ambassador for Northern Ireland. One year later, Jonathan Rea BEM got involved in New Irish Arts. Through his leadership, he has been instrumental in seeing the group grow from strength to strength: he has been creative director since 2005. Many years ago, Jonathan taught me how to play or not to play the recorder in Bangor Grammar School, with limited success, unfortunately. The New Irish Arts group is made up of several hundred dedicated volunteers of all ages who make up the choir and orchestra. It also has a very vibrant and talented youth choir, youth orchestra and a committed audiovisual team. It provides wonderful opportunities for young people to develop and perform using their musical talent and skills. The group is always in great demand right across Northern Ireland and beyond, and it performs at many concerts, broadcasts and events throughout the year, with annual charity collections at its creative events. New Irish Arts has had a very positive impact on church worship right across these islands for over 30 years. I warmly congratulate everyone involved in the New Irish Arts group, which is based in Bangor, as it celebrates 30 years and looks back proudly on its past. I wish the group very well for the next 30 years and pay tribute to Jonathan and all the dedicated volunteers who are involved.
304 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.02 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.61 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.32 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.06 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:06 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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