Footbridge set to be named after Ivan Barr

A MOTION has been passed at council which proposes to name the pedestrian footbridge in Strabane after the late Sinn Féin and civil rights activist, Ivan Barr.

Presented by independent councillor, Paul Gallagher, the motion was passed with 23 votes for and five against at a full meeting of council on Thursday.

As far back as the legacy Strabane District Council it was proposed to name the bridge after Ivan Barr and those proposals passed into the era of the amalgamated Derry City and Strabane District Council.

Previously though, the Department for Social Development (DSD), one of the main funders of the pedestrian bridge, rejected the naming of the structure after Mr Barr, who passed away in 2008, as it contravened naming guidelines.

The then DSD Minister Mervyn Storey even threatened to withdraw some £1.4million in funding if councillors pursued the plan to name it after the late councillor.

Now however, ownership of the bridge has passed to council and as such, the local authority is free to name the bridge however it sees fit.

The wording of the motion read, “That this council seeks to confer the name The Ivan Barr Bridge on its most recent footbridge erected at Townsend Street, Strabane and that officers bring forward a report on how this could potentially be taken forward at this time.”

Cllr Gallagher explained, “For those who are not aware, Ivan Barr was a councillor at the previous Strabane council. He worked for many, many years in public service, he gave much of his life to public service and he did a great job at that. He was a gentleman of politics who gave great leadership to the people of Strabane during a very turbulent time. He was a great man for building bridges through good relations and he successfully did that through the old council.

“I would say to the people in this chamber, it’s a very fitting legacy for this man for council to confer his name on this bridge.”

Michaela Boyle thanked Cllr Gallagher for bringing the motion and remarked that Sinn Féin would be supporting the proposal.

“Ivan represented everyone no matter who they were or where they came from, and regardless of their political allegiance. Naming the bridge after Ivan would indeed be a fitting tribute.”

Ivan Barr’s brother, Cllr Raymond Barr also thanked Cllr Gallagher for bringing the motion and added that he would be very happy to second it.

“Ivan was a proud and committed socialist and he was never one for ceremony,” he said. “He would have been acutely embarrassed if anyone wanted to name a bridge after him.”

Cllr Raymond Barr added that he hoped the motion would not cause division in council.

“Division was not what Ivan was about,” he said.

However, the DUP’s Maurice Devenney said his party would not support the motion and that people from the Protestant/Unionist/Loyalist (PUL) community already “did not feel welcome in Strabane.”

“I believe calling this bridge the Ivan Barr Bridge will cause division,” he said.

Despite this, the motion was passed with a huge majority.