Belfast mayor looks to resolve St Patrick's row

The Lord Mayor of Belfast, Tom Ekin, today expressed his wish that there could be inclusive St Patrick’s Day celebrations in the city centre next year, backed by the council.

Following a meeting with the St Patrick’s Day Carnival Committee, the cross-community Alliance Party mayor said an early resolution to the issue of celebrating St Patrick’s Day would be a fitting legacy to his year in office.

As he embarked on his final week as Lord Mayor, Mr Ekin said: “This year’s council events were successful, particularly those funded by community grants, as they involved people from all backgrounds across the city.

“We want to build on that progress and look at options for supporting a city centre event.

“Belfast is different from other cities across the world and, for next year, we must go all-out to find an event which satisfies as many as possible.

“It is my vision that St Patrick’s Day should be a day of celebration for the city and not a day of division. A family-friendly, inclusive event would have significant community, social and economic benefits for the city.”

Belfast City Council sponsored more than 50 small community events across the city and a major concert in the Waterfront Hall.

However it again refused funding for an open air concert outside Belfast City Hall organised by volunteers of the St Patrick’s Day Carnival Committee.

Unionists, in particular, have said the presence of Irish tricolours and people wearing Glasgow Celtic tops during the carnival are a chill factor, deterring many in their community from taking part.

Mr Ekin hoped meetings between the carnival committee and council representatives could find any early resolution of issues around the financing and shape of St Patrick’s Day celebrations in the city.

Conor Maskey of the St Patrick’s Day Carnival Committee said his colleagues wanted celebrations which all communities could feel comfortable with.

“This year, we continued our commitment to dialogue. We listened to feedback and reviewed the event,” he said.

“We redesigned our logo as a multi-coloured shamrock and distributed 5,000 copies in an attempt to make that the dominant image on the day and focus on the carnival atmosphere of the event.

“We want to develop that for 2006, creating a carnival atmosphere which everyone can be part of and not feel alienated from.

“Significant progress has been made in developing a very positive relationship with council officers and councillors but we recognise some further work needs to be carried out to ensure that the event gets widespread support in the years to come.”

The carnival committee committed itself to more dialogue over the next few months with key stakeholders in the city, including councillors from all political parties.

They also vowed to work closely with council staff to focus on key issues such as event management, alcohol consumption and the overall theme of the celebration.