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Ruane Backs Healy Park?
The members have been discussing this over at Our Wee Country but I felt it deserved a post. Apparently Caitriona* Ruane has attacked the SDLP's Down councillor Margaret Ritchie for not supporting the move to rename one of the council's parks after Northern Ireland's record goalscorer David Healy, who is originally from the village of Killyleagh in the borough. (The move started over a year ago when Healy became Northern Ireland's record goalscorer. It's amazing the speed with which local government can act here, isn't it?)
Cllr Ritchie said that it would impact the neutrality of the area! This all seems a bit arse about face, you'd normally expect the SDLP to be the rational and reasonable ones, while Sinn Fein denounce anything non-republican as triumphalist, bigoted and/or sectarian. Regardless of my opinion on her other interests at home and abroad, Ruane has to be commended for this particular action. Keep this up and people might actually start believing you when you talk about an Ireland of equals. Maybe not.
Follow up:
Shame on Cllr Ritchie too. Sir David is not only Northern Ireland's highest ever goal scorer, but he also dealt a decisive blow to our old colonial masters, surely that's worth changing the name of a park for!
* again, apparently that's pronounced Katrina Kat-ree-ona for the majority in Northern Ireland who don't speak Gaelic, but I have heard both used.