Allister Calls for Restoration of HM the Queen's Portrait to Stormont
30 January 2012
Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“After tabling a question to the Assembly Commission I have discovered that a large number of works of art held by the Northern Ireland Assembly are hidden away in “offsite storage”. These include portraits of former Prime Ministers JM Andrews and Viscount Craigavon as well as one of Sir Henry Wilson who was involved in the famous Curragh Incident in March 1914 when a large number of officers at the main British military base in Ireland said they would resign or accept dismissal if ordered to enforce Home Rule on Ulster.
“Sir Wilson later went on to serve with distinction in the First World War.
“Also in storage are a painting of the Obelisk which stood at the Boyne before it was blown up during the Irish Civil War in 1923, a print of the service for Queen Victoria’s Jubilee and a photograph of Queen Victoria. A portrait of HM the Queen is on loan to Hillsborough Castle.
“It is a disgrace that these important reminders of Northern Ireland’s history are hidden away in order to appease Republican intolerance.
“If Stormont can find space for a sculpture venerating the Hillsborough Agreement and portraits of Ian Paisley and Shamus Mallon then surely space can be found for portraits of our first Prime Minister and the Prime Minister who lead Northern Ireland though the dark days of the Second World War.
“Doesn’t Sir Henry Wilson deserve to be remembered as we approach the centenary of the Curragh Incident, a pivotal event in the run up to the foundation of Northern Ireland?
“And isn’t it a disgrace that in this year we will mark the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen’s accession to the throne but there will not so much as be a portrait of Her in Stormont?
“I have today tabled a question to the Assembly Commission asking if in light of this being the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will the Commission require the return of the Assembly's portrait of Her Majesty so that it can be suitably displayed within Parliament Buildings.
“I await the answer with interest”.
