Event to mark centenary of Andrew Bonar Law’s premiership
DUP MP Ian Paisley is organising an event in Parliament to mark the centenary of Andrew Bonar Law’s premiership and “rekindle knowledge” about the Conservative politician of Ulster Scots descent. The celebration is being held in October in collaboration with the Andrew Bonar Law Memorial Project, with descendant Charlotte Bonar Law acting as honorary patron.
Crossbench peer Lord Bew, a historian and professor of Irish Politics at Queen’s University Belfast, is expected to give a speech reflecting on the life of Bonar Law and his importance to unionism.
Bonar Law served as prime minister from October 1922 until May 1923, when he resigned due to terminal throat cancer. He was a fierce opponent of Irish Home Rule and is described by Aaron Callan, chairman of the memorial project, as “one of the founding fathers of Northern Ireland”.
Paisley said: “Andrew Bonar Law is all too often left out of discussions about our history. Yet to all intents and purposes he was a genuine Ulster Scotch politician who made it to the highest office in the land. This will be a wonderful opportunity to rekindle knowledge about him.”
The date for the event will be announced shortly.