Debate contribution: St Patrick’s Day in Downpatrick

Debate contribution by Mr Gordon Lyons on 12 May 2026.

MLA

Mr Gordon Lyons

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

12 May 2026

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Adjournment

Heading

St Patrick’s Day in Downpatrick

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5528797

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank Mr McGrath for securing the debate today. It has fallen to me to respond, but, as the Member and others have rightly pointed out, achieving what he and others have set out today will not simply be a matter for my Department, because other partners will also take responsibility for ensuring that we get this opportunity to where it needs to be. I thank the Member for his passion for the subject. He, rightly, mentioned the council — I do not think that he has just as much enthusiasm for the council as he does for St Patrick's Day and Downpatrick — but it is right that we in the Chamber put focus on that subject today. The development of St Patrick's Day across Northern Ireland, and particularly in Downpatrick, matters greatly to local people and to future opportunities in the town. We know that Downpatrick is a place of strong identity and deep cultural meaning. The connection with St Patrick is well known, but the key issue for us today is how that story is told, shared and sustained. The development of the St Patrick's Day celebrations and the long-term regeneration of the town are not separate issues. They are closely connected and should be progressed together, if Downpatrick is to thrive. St Patrick's story is not a story for just one day in March, of course, and, if the Member who secured the Adjournment debate does not mind me saying so, it is not a story for just Downpatrick, either. Slemish will soon be in the East Antrim constituency, and there are significant connections there that, I am sure, all Members will want us to explore and celebrate. The focus of today, however, is Downpatrick. St Patrick's story is not just for one day. It is a shared story that belongs to everyone and that can be expressed throughout the year through culture, creativity and community participation. Music, dance, language, storytelling and the other arts play a vital role in bringing that story to life. My Department supports that cultural activity through a range of programmes that are delivered by our arm's-length bodies, in partnership with the council. With support from the Arts Council, artists and organisations across the Newry, Mourne and Down council area contribute to cultural activity that underpins St Patrick's Day and supports year-round engagement. Down Community Arts, a funded client of the Arts Council, plays a particularly important role in supporting the parade and wider celebrations, working with local groups, engaging rural communities and delivering cross-community cultural activity that builds not only pride but participation. My Department also supports local festivals through the community festivals fund, which match-funds programmes delivered by councils to support community-led events. That fund was established in recognition of the positive contribution that local festivals make to communities. In the past year, my Department allocated £36,000 to the council through the community festivals fund, which has been match-funded by the council. Not all the support that the Department for Communities provides comes in the form of funding. Initiatives that are linked to St Patrick's Day in Downpatrick must be multidimensional and strongly rooted in storytelling, learning and participation. They depend on skilled people, active organisations and the ability to connect heritage, creativity and community in meaningful ways. That is why I introduced the heritage, culture and creativity programme. The programme will bring forward new policies for the arts, historic environment and museums and libraries. Together, those policies will provide a coherent cultural framework to strengthen how our heritage and stories are protected, promoted and sustained. I am pleased to say that the preparation of the policies is well advanced and that the first public consultation is already open. I encourage all those with an interest to participate. Downpatrick benefits from a strong year-round cultural offering. There are accredited museums, such as Down County Museum and the Downpatrick and County Down Railway, alongside language and cultural organisations that reflect the Irish and Ulster-Scots traditions. Those assets help to animate the town, to support education and, importantly, to encourage repeat visits. That cultural activity sits alongside the town's historic environment. Through its historical environment division, my Department maintains a number of state care monuments in and around Downpatrick. Those sites form an important part of the town's sense of place and visitor appeal, and my Department remains fully committed to their care, conservation and presentation for future generations. Successful events can flourish only when the surrounding environment is safe, accessible and attractive. That is why sustained regeneration investment and sensitive place-making is so important in Downpatrick. In February 2025, I announced £2·5 million of funding, alongside £400,000 from the council, for a major public realm scheme at Church Street and De Courcy Place. That investment is improving surfaces, lighting, accessibility and connectivity and is strengthening the core of the town centre as a place to visit and in which to do business. Since September 2025, my Department has invested £493,000 in the redevelopment of the Dunleath urban sports park. That project has delivered a new, high-quality space that is proving to be hugely popular. It promotes health and well-being, encourages active lifestyles and draws more people into the town centre, supporting footfall and, I hope, confidence.

The Irish Street development scheme is central to that long-term vision. The proposals represent a major and comprehensive development scheme that I plan to take to the market. The intention is to attract public-sector and private-sector investment in order to deliver a transformational mixed-use development. The vision includes a new hotel, new homes, new commercial space and high-quality shared public space. Taken together, those elements would significantly increase footfall, strengthen the daytime and evening economy and provide real support for local businesses, including during major events such as St Patrick's Day. Progress in Downpatrick has also been supported by strong local leadership through the Downpatrick regeneration working group, which has shaped the Downpatrick living high streets framework, a place-based approach that aligns regeneration investment with cultural activity and how the town centre is used. My Department will continue to work with the working group, stakeholders and the council to deliver on the framework. I hope that Members can see today how my Department is supporting work in connection with the regeneration of the town to ensure that we set the scene for how the event on St Patrick's Day and events around it can be supported. Members raised a number of other points today, and I am happy to address some of them now. I am happy to raise with colleagues in the Executive Office the T:BUC funding that Mr McGrath mentioned. I assure him and Cathy Mason, who asked me to use every tool that we have to help in that area, that I certainly commit to doing that. Alongside the Department for the Economy, Tourism NI, the council and other stakeholders, we are more than happy to provide support in order to make sure that we play our part. Andrew McMurray asked me to take a wee trip to Downpatrick. I am also more than happy to do that. It seems as though, every time that I respond to an Adjournment debate in the House, I end up getting invitations. In the previous Adjournment debate, I agreed to visit Newry and Armagh, so I am more than happy to visit Downpatrick, too. You can organise a tour, Andrew. I am sure that we can get a bus and all go together. I am more than happy to do that and to ensure that we highlight what is on offer and get that out to a wider audience. I appreciate what Diane Forsythe said about ensuring that we maximise the appeal and deal with the unsavoury elements that were there in the past and had put people off. What has come through in today's debate is that we should all be able to get behind St Patrick's Day. Yes, we may come from different perspectives, but all of us have an interest in it and want to ensure that we promote it. I commend Harry Harvey for his contribution in rightly outlining the real message of St Patrick and the shared history that we have. I also note Mr Beattie's comments. I do not know whether we will be able to get the hundreds of people whom we engage with in the United States over here, but, certainly, St Patrick's Day is an opportunity for us to tell people about who we are. We should use that for the benefit of everybody in Northern Ireland.

1,439 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:37 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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