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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Voters in DUP heartland back its stance on Irish border agreement | Voters in DUP heartland back its stance on Irish border agreement |
| (30 days later) | |
| In Northern Irish city of Lisburn, many feel party is standing up for union by rejecting Brexit deal | In Northern Irish city of Lisburn, many feel party is standing up for union by rejecting Brexit deal |
| Henry McDonald Ireland correspondent | Henry McDonald Ireland correspondent |
| Tue 5 Dec 2017 16.52 GMT | Tue 5 Dec 2017 16.52 GMT |
| Last modified on Wed 14 Feb 2018 15.29 GMT | |
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| Inside the Irish Linen Centre in Lisburn is an exhibition that illuminates why the market town is a heartland of unionism. It is a display of artefacts, journals, flags, medals and unit reports from the first world war. | Inside the Irish Linen Centre in Lisburn is an exhibition that illuminates why the market town is a heartland of unionism. It is a display of artefacts, journals, flags, medals and unit reports from the first world war. |
| One of the most surprising items relates to Sgt Thomas Davis, who made history in Easter Week 1916 when Irish Republican rebels stormed Dublin’s General Post Office building and declared independence. | One of the most surprising items relates to Sgt Thomas Davis, who made history in Easter Week 1916 when Irish Republican rebels stormed Dublin’s General Post Office building and declared independence. |
| Davis found his way into unionist folklore by being the British soldier who captured the flag the insurgents had hoisted over the GPO during the doomed rising. | Davis found his way into unionist folklore by being the British soldier who captured the flag the insurgents had hoisted over the GPO during the doomed rising. |
| To many Democratic Unionist voters at the exhibition centre or in the nearby Tuesday market, the party’s rejection of a post-Brexit border deal is the 21st-century equivalent of Davis’s demonstration of loyalty to Britain. | To many Democratic Unionist voters at the exhibition centre or in the nearby Tuesday market, the party’s rejection of a post-Brexit border deal is the 21st-century equivalent of Davis’s demonstration of loyalty to Britain. |
| Wilson Donald said he agreed with the DUP’s stance in opposing a deal that would have harmonised trade on the island of Ireland after the UK leaves the European Union. | Wilson Donald said he agreed with the DUP’s stance in opposing a deal that would have harmonised trade on the island of Ireland after the UK leaves the European Union. |
| Donald, 65, said: “I don’t want a hard border. I like travelling down south without any fear of being stopped by police or customs, but the DUP stance was right. If they had accepted this deal it would have resulted in Northern Ireland being treated completely differently from the rest of the UK. I voted for Brexit expecting that we would all be out of the EU – not just England, Scotland and Wales. We in Northern Ireland can’t be simply halfway out. | Donald, 65, said: “I don’t want a hard border. I like travelling down south without any fear of being stopped by police or customs, but the DUP stance was right. If they had accepted this deal it would have resulted in Northern Ireland being treated completely differently from the rest of the UK. I voted for Brexit expecting that we would all be out of the EU – not just England, Scotland and Wales. We in Northern Ireland can’t be simply halfway out. |
| “Sorting out the border should be the business of our government and the one in Dublin, not Europe or Brussels. Most unionists like myself will tell you they don’t want a hard border, but they also don’t want their British identity or nationality compromised. There are a lot of things I don’t agree with regarding the DUP, like their opposition to gay rights. But they do defend the union and they did so on Monday by rejecting that deal.” | “Sorting out the border should be the business of our government and the one in Dublin, not Europe or Brussels. Most unionists like myself will tell you they don’t want a hard border, but they also don’t want their British identity or nationality compromised. There are a lot of things I don’t agree with regarding the DUP, like their opposition to gay rights. But they do defend the union and they did so on Monday by rejecting that deal.” |
| Although there is a sizeable Catholic minority in the town, an overwhelming number of voters back the DUP, and in the general election in June the party’s chief whip at Westminster, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, was returned to parliament with a majority of nearly 20,000. | Although there is a sizeable Catholic minority in the town, an overwhelming number of voters back the DUP, and in the general election in June the party’s chief whip at Westminster, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, was returned to parliament with a majority of nearly 20,000. |
| At the entrance to Bow Street Mall Jean McBride was steeling herself for Christmas shopping. McBride, 33, said she had no problem with a secured, fortified border. “If it stopped guns, bombs, explosives, drugs and illegal immigrants coming into Northern Ireland I would support it,” she said. | At the entrance to Bow Street Mall Jean McBride was steeling herself for Christmas shopping. McBride, 33, said she had no problem with a secured, fortified border. “If it stopped guns, bombs, explosives, drugs and illegal immigrants coming into Northern Ireland I would support it,” she said. |
| Pointing directly across the road, McBride added: “A few months ago a pipe bomb fell off a car belonging to a local prison officer. He had a lucky escape and it was fortunate someone spotted the bomb lying in the road and told the police. I have no problem with increased security if it stopped future attacks like that.” | Pointing directly across the road, McBride added: “A few months ago a pipe bomb fell off a car belonging to a local prison officer. He had a lucky escape and it was fortunate someone spotted the bomb lying in the road and told the police. I have no problem with increased security if it stopped future attacks like that.” |
| The spot where the bomb was found is yards away from a commemorative plaque to six British soldiers who were killed at that exact location by an IRA bomb as they took part in a charity fun run in June 1988. | The spot where the bomb was found is yards away from a commemorative plaque to six British soldiers who were killed at that exact location by an IRA bomb as they took part in a charity fun run in June 1988. |
| At the market Johnny Wallace, from Downpatrick, was doing a roaring trade selling holly wreaths. Wallace said he was a “proud Brexiteer” but stressed he admired immigrants who “do the jobs that lazy local people can’t be bothered to do”. | At the market Johnny Wallace, from Downpatrick, was doing a roaring trade selling holly wreaths. Wallace said he was a “proud Brexiteer” but stressed he admired immigrants who “do the jobs that lazy local people can’t be bothered to do”. |
| He continued: “I voted for Brexit because of the issue of sovereignty and democracy, not because I am a racist or hate immigrants. I despise racism and I want an open border with the Republic. I think the DUP were right to reject this deal because it would have undermined our position in the UK.” | He continued: “I voted for Brexit because of the issue of sovereignty and democracy, not because I am a racist or hate immigrants. I despise racism and I want an open border with the Republic. I think the DUP were right to reject this deal because it would have undermined our position in the UK.” |
| Asked how the circle could be squared between supporting Brexit and wanting a fluid border, Wallace, 32, added: “I travel a lot through Europe and was particularly impressed at the way Switzerland does it. They are surrounded by four or five countries and yet when you cross their borders there are no police, no army, no fortifications. Surely technology can solve this. I already need technology to make my way by car down south. I have to pay at a toll bridge at Drogheda in the Republic. Why not increase technological surveillance there? Not just to charge motorists but to monitor traffic that might be suspicious. It can be done between us up north and the people down south without the interference of 20 European commissioners based in Brussels.” | Asked how the circle could be squared between supporting Brexit and wanting a fluid border, Wallace, 32, added: “I travel a lot through Europe and was particularly impressed at the way Switzerland does it. They are surrounded by four or five countries and yet when you cross their borders there are no police, no army, no fortifications. Surely technology can solve this. I already need technology to make my way by car down south. I have to pay at a toll bridge at Drogheda in the Republic. Why not increase technological surveillance there? Not just to charge motorists but to monitor traffic that might be suspicious. It can be done between us up north and the people down south without the interference of 20 European commissioners based in Brussels.” |
| Back at the great war exhibition, there are reminders that Lisburn and the Lagan Valley constituency Donaldson represents contain a nationalist tradition that still looks to Europe rather than London. | Back at the great war exhibition, there are reminders that Lisburn and the Lagan Valley constituency Donaldson represents contain a nationalist tradition that still looks to Europe rather than London. |
| Although a quarter of all recruits from Lisburn in the first world war were local Catholics, the town and its surrounding villages and hamlets produced some of the leading lights of early 20th-century Irish nationalism. | Although a quarter of all recruits from Lisburn in the first world war were local Catholics, the town and its surrounding villages and hamlets produced some of the leading lights of early 20th-century Irish nationalism. |
| A townland just outside Lisburn, the exhibition reminds visitors, was the home of Ernest Blythe, a Protestant-born Irish republican who took part in the 1916 Rising on the rebels’ side and became a founder father of the Irish free state. | A townland just outside Lisburn, the exhibition reminds visitors, was the home of Ernest Blythe, a Protestant-born Irish republican who took part in the 1916 Rising on the rebels’ side and became a founder father of the Irish free state. |
| Blythe and his comrades looked beyond the British empire for a future as an independent republic. The DUP’s task is to convince that tradition on the island, as it is represented at the exhibition, that Brexit does not mean a threat to its nationalism. | Blythe and his comrades looked beyond the British empire for a future as an independent republic. The DUP’s task is to convince that tradition on the island, as it is represented at the exhibition, that Brexit does not mean a threat to its nationalism. |
| Northern Ireland | Northern Ireland |
| Democratic Unionist party (DUP) | Democratic Unionist party (DUP) |
| Brexit | Brexit |
| European Union | European Union |
| features | features |
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