A "shared future" ? Sinn Fein Lord mayor refuses to present award to Army cadet

[Minder]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-15948835


Sinn Fein mayor slammed over failure to present award to army cadet


The lord mayor of Belfast has been criticised after he failed to present a Duke of Edinburgh award certificate to an Army cadet force member.
Ulster Unionist MLA Mike Nesbitt said Sinn Fein mayor Niall O Donnghaile's decision not to present the award was "absolutely shameful".
Mr O Donnghaile said he was told "at the last minute" that an award was to be presented to a cadet force member.
He said someone else then joined him to present the certificates.
Mr O Donnghaile said he would be happy to meet the cadet and her family to explain his decision.
He said it was "nothing personal".
"At the last minute I was informed that one of the awards was to be presented to a representative of the Army cadet force," Mr O Donnghaile added.
"In order to avoid any unnecessary sensitivities to either party, it was arranged for the outgoing chairman of the organisation to present some of the certificates alongside me.
"Since becoming mayor in late May I have attended over 620 engagements, many of them in working class unionist communities.
"I take my responsibilities as being a mayor for all very seriously."
Mr Nesbitt said the mayor had "stopped half way through" his presentation and that the remainder of the certificates were presented by a representative of the Duke of Edinburgh awards scheme.
"The problem appeared to be down to the fact that one of the recipients was from the Army cadet force," he said.
"This is absolutely shameful.
"So much for Sinn Fein's fine rhetoric about a shared future.
"So much for an Ireland of equals."
Alliance councillor Maire Hendron, the leader of the party's group on Belfast City Council, said she was "appalled at what happened".
"Being lord mayor is about representing and respecting everyone in the city of Belfast and I am deeply annoyed at Niall O Donnghaile's behaviour," she said.
"The message that this incident sends out is very troubling."
A spokesperson for the Duke of Edinburgh awards scheme said its silver award presentations for Northern Ireland had been held at City Hall in Belfast for more than 20 years, and that "each year the awards are presented by the lord mayor".
"The Army cadet force is one of a large number of youth organisations in Northern Ireland which makes the Duke of Edinburgh programme available to all young people," they said.
"We are deeply saddened that this incident has overshadowed the tremendous achievement and voluntary contribution to the community by all young people who received awards on the evening."

[Maguire01]

Note that the Army cadet force member was a 14 year old girl.

[Minder]

Sinn Fein and the DUP should be excluded from being Lord Mayor for shit like this. Anywhere else he would have got the road before he got back to his office.

[Maguire01]

You could add the teacher training colleges issue to this 'shared future' discussion as well.

The DEL Minister (Farry, Alliance) is looking at the future provision of this training. Stranmillis already want to merge with Queen's as they recognise that it isn't sustainable on its own, so the DUP are now getting excited. Meanwhile, Paul Maskey (surely the most inarticulate politician we have?) is getting excited about the idea that the future of St. Mary's might be considered.

It goes to show that all the talk of shared future is just that: talk. When it comes to actually implementing something, the usual suspects revert to type.

On this particular issue, it seems like a no-brainer to have one institution for teacher training.

[Forever Green]

Aye, sure he should present an award to a member of an army that has terrorised this place for years. Dont give a f**k what age they were, they are still part of a force who have no right to be getting awards presented to them by an Irishman. Although I am no fan of Sinn Fein, well done to him

[Eamonnca1]

Dont give a f**k what age they were,

Has a familiar ring to it.

[Maguire01]

Aye, sure he should present an award to a member of an army that has terrorised this place for years. Dont give a f**k what age they were, they are still part of a force who have no right to be getting awards presented to them by an Irishman. Although I am no fan of Sinn Fein, well done to him

Two points:
He said when elected to the office that he'd represent everyone.
He was giving out Duke of Edinburgh Awards; the Duke of Edinburgh is Colonel-in-Chief of the British Army Cadet Force.

[red hander]

What is it with the British and putting young kids into uniform? I'd be more critical of that than someone sticking to their principles, which is a rare occurrence for the Shinners these days

[Myles Na G.]

What is it with the British and putting young kids into uniform? I'd be more critical of that than someone sticking to their principles, which is a rare occurrence for the Shinners these days

Being a complete dick isn't a principle, it's more a state of mind.

[red hander]

What is it with the British and putting young kids into uniform? I'd be more critical of that than someone sticking to their principles, which is a rare occurrence for the Shinners these days

Being a complete dick isn't a principle, it's more a state of mind.

And there's no-one better than you to confirm that

[Maguire01]

What is it with the British and putting young kids into uniform? I'd be more critical of that than someone sticking to their principles, which is a rare occurrence for the Shinners these days

Just what are these principles, if he's giving out Duke of Edinburgh awards in the first place?

[Ulick]

There's a raghead over there - go get'm tiger.

[Maguire01]

Your point?

[red hander]

There's a raghead over there - go get'm tiger.

The Taliban must be shitting themselves if that's what's coming down the line

[Puckoon]

Dont give a f**k what age they were,

Has a familiar ring to it.

#lemmeseeyourwarface