Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
City Hall to be lit by a rainbow on centenary
Belfast opt-out due to admin error
BELFAST City Hall will not be joining a Uk-wide lighting up of civic buildings to mark Northern Ireland’s centenary following an “administrative error”.
The British government had invited all councils in the region to take part in a coordinated illumination of buildings on Friday.
Civic landmarks across the UK will be lit in blue and green under the Northern Ireland Office plans.
However, Belfast City Hall is instead being lit in rainbow colours on Friday to mark 40 years since a court ruling that led to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Northern Ireland.
The anniversary of the European Court of Human Rights case brought by Jeffrey Dudgeon in 1981 is being commemorated following a UUP proposal agreed last week.
But on Monday, party group leaders were asked to reconsider their decision after the NIO request emerged and it was decided that the rainbow lighting would go ahead as earlier planned.
A council official said the UK government request had not been raised earlier due to an “administrative error”. Belfast City Council said an alternative date would be considered to light up the City Hall to mark 100 years since the creation of Northern Ireland.
However, there will be a short period of time to find an alternative date because the council points out it cannot facilitate illumination requests between November 19 and January 7 because of its Christmas lighting programme.
A council spokeswoman said: “The illumination to mark the 40th anniversary of Jeffrey Dudgeon’s victory in the European Court of Human Rights will proceed as previously approved.
“A request to illuminate City Hall to mark the Northern Ireland centenary on an alternative date will be considered at a future meeting.”
The Northern Ireland Office did not respond to requests for a comment. But in a letter to another council, an NIO official described the plans to light up buildings across the UK on Friday.
She wrote: “We aim to create a unique moment of reflection, hope and inspiration.”