Member's statement: Ganaway Training and Activity Centre
Member's statement by Miss Michelle McIlveen on .
- MLA
- Miss Michelle McIlveen
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 1 October 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Ganaway Training and Activity Centre
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4562234
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I congratulate the Belfast battalion of the Boys' Brigade (BB), as it celebrates 100 years of Ganaway training and activity centre, which is located on the picturesque Ards peninsula in my constituency of Strangford. On Sunday, I was privileged to attend a thanksgiving service to mark that significant milestone. Camping has been a key part of the BB since its formation in Glasgow in 1881. After the first company was formed in Belfast in 1892 and after its first camp in Ballywalter in 1904, there was a desire to have a battalion campsite. In 1923, 12 acres of land at Ganaway were placed on the market, and the property was purchased by the battalion for £1,250, which is about £75,000 in today's money. The first camp took place in 1924. The land had been purchased using battalion funds, money from anonymous donors, a £500 interest-free loan from Reverend Cooper, who was the battalion president, and a house-to-house collection, which raised a further £200.
The campsite proved incredibly popular, with more than 1,000 boys and officers attending one camp in the 1930s. The boys arrived by train at Donaghadee and paraded through the town towards Millisle. From Millisle, they marched on to Ganaway. From 1977 until the early 1990s, the BB and Belfast Education and Library Board operated a joint usage scheme. Over the years, there has been continual investment in Ganaway, from the bare fields that were initially purchased in 1923. It is, of course, more than just a campsite. The site includes two modern log cabins, a sports hall, indoor and outdoor climbing towers, abseiling facilities, a zip line, an artificial caving complex, low- and high-level rope courses, an anchor-buoy trail, crazy golf, games facilities and so much more. Importantly, it also celebrates the history and heritage of the BB with a museum and an education centre. It still contains a large campsite for people who love to sleep under canvas, as well as three camping pods for those who need some level of comfort. The range of people who come to use the facilities at Ganaway has also developed. It is not just BB members who come but young people from a vast variety of organisations and communities. During 2023, around 18,000 young people and adults attended the centre: school groups, the Scouts, Girl Guides, church groups and statutory youth groups. All that is from a vision of a BB camp started 100 years ago. It is a place that offers so much opportunity. This is a fantastic achievement, and it is a fantastic facility.
427 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: 0.04 (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 | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.04 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.04 | 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) | 0.60 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.23 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.06 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.05 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.03 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:15 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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