Debate contribution: Audit and Re-imaging of Memorials

Debate contribution by Ms Kellie Armstrong on 11 November 2025.

MLA

Ms Kellie Armstrong

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

11 November 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Audit and Re-imaging of Memorials

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5349741

Read the official Assembly record

Text

It is lovely to be in the House today when we are hearing Members speak with one voice in agreement that this issue is something that we do need to work on across Northern Ireland. What we are talking about today is a step towards healing and progress in this place. I completely support re-imaging our communities. If I was to stand here in front of you and point a gun image at any of you, it would be disgusting, yet I have that in my constituency on the corners of houses. It is time that we recognise that those symbols, while rooted in history, often perpetuate division, fear and territorialism. If we are to build an inclusive, welcoming place for all, we must be brave enough to reshape the visual landscape of our neighbourhoods. The Housing Executive has already begun that journey. As a housing spokesperson, you can understand why I will focus on that. In west Belfast, the Housing Executive partnered with the Falls Community Council and the Upper Springfield Development Trust to remove the controversial Bobby Sands funeral mural. With £5,000 in funding and support from the Ulster Museum, the mural was carefully taken down and preserved, demonstrating a respectful yet forward-looking approach. This is not about erasing history. It is about relocating it to places of education and reflection, just not in our daily lives. In my constituency, there are housing estates that are very uncomfortable to be in because they have paramilitary-themed murals on the walls. In fact, in 2021-22, when the review was done, it confirmed that there were 31 political murals on Housing Executive properties in one of the council areas that I represent. Those images of men — it is always men — wearing balaclavas and holding guns as if they are waiting to ambush or get ready to shoot are being replaced with panels that include local historical information, and I can honestly say that the relief in the area is tangible. Many people have said to me that that change sends out a clear image that the gun and the threat of violence no longer control their community. The pressure of the boot on the neck of the community is being lifted. Billy Sproule of the West Winds Development Association said:

"This initiative marks a significant moment of progress for the West Winds Estate, emphasising the values of collaboration, cultural renewal and peacebuilding."

That is an area that very often gets vilified as being unpleasant. People say, "It is very loyalist. Nobody wants to go in there. It is dangerous". The change for that community is incredibly positive, so we must support the Housing Executive's community cohesion teams to work with communities, not against them. The Housing Executive's re-imaging project showed that collaboration can lead to transformation, but we must go further. Any future memorials or murals in Northern Ireland should require formal planning permission. That would ensure public accountability, community consultation and alignment with shared values, and it would prevent the unchecked rise of divisive imagery and promote art that reflects unity, diversity and hope. I do not think that we need to be held hostage by the past any more. We should honour it in museums and classrooms and through respectful dialogue, like we are doing today, but not on the walls of our homes and streets. The future of Northern Ireland depends on our ability to imagine something better today. We all know that, too often, you ask the authorities to take something down or remove something because you have been asked to do so by residents, and the authorities say no because they are afraid of the attacks that they may face. Today, in the House, given the support for the motion, we have to say this to all our public authorities: it is public land and public buildings. We are behind you. We want these things removed or re-imaged so that we can have a better Northern Ireland for all.

665 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:38 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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