By 
DERRY City and Strabane District Council has approved the erection of Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) memorial benches at three cemeteries.
Families are able to erect headstones and memorials within council-operated municipal cemeteries across the City and District, and council’s Cemetery section recently received an application from the UDR Memorial Association seeking permission to erect three memorial benches, to commemorate members lost during the Troubles, at Castlederg, Urney and Ardstraw cemeteries.
Additionally, council received an application from the Royal British Legion to erect a plaque at Castlederg Cemetery, indicating that there are Commonwealth war graves located within.
Members were asked to support the installation of memorial benches during February’s Environment and Regeneration Committee meeting.
Sinn Féin councillor Emma McGinley said she would not ‘stand in the way of anybody commemorating their dead’, but as a Republican she could not vote in favour of a UDR memorial and therefore abstained from the vote.
Independent councillor Gary Donnelly voted against the proposal and said it was ‘beyond belief’ that council found ‘no difficulties’ with the application.
“This is a notorious armed group that is responsible for many, many murders throughout the Six Counties,” he said. “In the area that this is going in we’ve had the death of Michael McHugh, in January 1977, carried out by a loyalist gang that that included UDR members.
“The UDR has been used as a source of hundreds of weapons passed to Loyalist murder gangs.
“If people want to commemorate their dead they’re quite entitled to, but this council should not have a corporate position of putting up memorials to a murder gang that worked hand-in-hand with lawless paramilitaries.“
SDLP councillor John Boyle also abstained from voting and concluded: “We appreciate the ability for people to be able to remember and commemorate the loss of their loved ones and we believe we should approach this magnanimity and compassion.
“Undoubtedly there will be contested versions of many things that have gone before. We do believe that all should be free to commemorate and grieve freely.
“We’re reluctant to fully endorse the idea of the UDR commemorations, but we do not want to interfere with that; we don’t believe it appropriate to interfere with a grieving process.”
The proposal was approved with UUP Alderman Derek Hussey and DUP alderman Keith Kerrigan voting in its favour, councillor Donnelly voting against, and SDLP and Sinn Féin representatives abstaining.
