Debate contribution: Audit and Re-imaging of Memorials

Debate contribution by Mr Doug Beattie MC on 11 November 2025.

MLA

Mr Doug Beattie MC

Party at the time

Ulster Unionist Party

Date

11 November 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Audit and Re-imaging of Memorials

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5349691

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Mr Speaker. We have no issue with the motion or with the DUP amendment, and we will not force a Division on either. However, if I may, I will be a bit more direct with regard to memorialisation. Here is a simple truth about Northern Ireland: there are more memorials in Northern Ireland to the perpetrators than to the victims. It is a sad indictment of our society that that is the case. Everyone has a right to remember their dead — it is easily said; we say it all the time, and I am saying it now — but that cannot be at the expense of the victims. Let us be honest: victims are impacted when they see perpetrators being venerated online, at memorials, in murals, in stone monuments or in words. What we see continually is terrorism and terrorists being glorified daily, while the innocent victims find themselves forgotten, marginalised and isolated. Thomas McElwee was a terrorist. He burned a young mother to death in Ballymena. Her name was Yvonne Dunlop. Every year, the glorifying of McElwee in words, deeds and memorials brings renewed grief to her family — every year. Thomas Begley was a mass murderer, yet he has a memorial that celebrates his active service in murdering 10 people, including children. Why, as a society, do we think that that is right? Why do we think that remembering your dead cannot be done without climbing all over the victims? The murder of the members of the Miami Showband was an appalling atrocity, and it was perpetrated by those who showed no regard for life. Every year, there is a parade to remember one of the murderers: Wesley Somerville. That has a direct and negative effect on those who survived that atrocity and on their families. It glorifies terrorism, and it is illegal. Brian Robinson murdered an innocent Catholic and was then shot by undercover soldiers. Again, a memorial and a parade that celebrates his action is allowed to take place each year. Imagine what it is like to be the family of the man who was murdered when they see the man who murdered their loved one being venerated in that manner. I am conscious that they had families and that those families still grieve their loss — we must always be mindful of that — but, for me, it is the victims whom we should focus our attention on. To that end, our amendment asks the Justice Minister to ensure that the criminal justice system is configured to take affirmative action, as laid out in the Terrorism Act 2006, against those who directly and indirectly glorify terrorism. We also propose that other Ministers work in collaboration. This cannot be one Minister alone. The Infrastructure Minister should take direct action to remove illegal memorials that contravene planning permission. The Minister for Communities should lead a programme to support the re-imaging of memorials:

"by removing all imagery and emblems that glorify terrorism and reference acts of violence"

— very close to what is in the motion. The Executive Office should give support in coordinating those efforts and conducting an audit of said memorials in line with the original motion. This can be fixed if we take direct action against those who are unwilling to make the change that is needed to end the glorification of violence. A criminal justice and police intervention; a Communities and Housing Executive intervention; an Infrastructure and planning enforcement intervention —.

I thank the Member for her intervention. If she had listened to my words, she would have heard that I did not put it all on to Justice; quite the opposite. I literally just mentioned Infrastructure, TEO and Communities. It needs a multi-agency, multifaceted approach, and criminal justice is part of that. We cannot ignore what is illegal. Glorifying terrorism is illegal, and I am saying, "Let us stop the illegality". We are not far apart, but that is where I am. Have we seen change previously? Yes, we have: many murals have been re-imaged. There was a mural depicting Billy Wright, not far from where I live in Portadown, and it was just outside a school. It was re-imaged into George Best, and now it has been re-imaged into Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. That is positive, and the community was involved in that, which is the point that the Member makes and makes well. In many ways, the military and the police have led on it. Some of you will know that the military took the vast majority of its memorials, including those to the construction workers who were murdered because they worked in military bases during the Troubles, and centralised them in Palace Barracks. If you go to Palace Barracks, you will see a memorial garden with memorials from across Northern Ireland. The garden is private, and people can go there to have a look at the memorials. The police did the same. Controversially, the police removed memorials from the public view, but they are still there for the police to see. Of course, there is the RUC memorial garden, which you can visit, but it is not in your face. There are things that we can do. Is there an opportunity for a single memorial for all victims? Not just yet. We can look at that and strive for it in the future, but we are not there yet, and that is a reality. I spent three years on FICT, and I know what it did and talked about. I know where the conflict was in FICT: memorialisation was a huge conflict, and nothing was agreed. The FICT report clearly states:

"the Commission explored a number of aspects related to memorialization, remembrance and commemoration, but was unable to reach agreement".

That does not matter, because that was the FICT report. We can make an agreement. We can decide which way to go forward. We can go forward with the motion and the amendment. Our amendment is a little stronger, but I will not divide on it. We need to go forward, and we need to change. We simply cannot have a situation where we walk down the street and see memorials to terrorists popping up all over the place and victims having to walk past them every day. We spend a lot of time talking about flags, and I understand the private Member's Bill about flags, but flags can be taken down. Some of the hard memorials are seriously large structures that cannot be taken down, and the victims are traumatised by them every day. I say that the FICT commission did not come up with recommendations: it did come up with them, but they were not agreed by any of the political parties or anyone on the commission. Again, that does not matter: we can make that decision. I am clear, as is the Ulster Unionist Party, that, if something is illegal, the criminal justice system has to act. If something has been built on private land that does not have planning permission and contravenes our laws, we have to act. If that has to be through the criminal justice system, it is through the criminal justice system; if it has to be through the Department for Infrastructure, it is through the Department for Infrastructure; if it has to be through the Department for Communities, that is where it is through. The Departments have to work together, but we cannot allow those people to illegally do as they wish and take no action. We are direct, and I make no apologies for being direct about the issue. I hope that the House does not divide. It is a good motion, and the DUP amendment is good. We will certainly not push for a Division.

1,299 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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