“Monday night's "special monthly meeting" of Lurgan Unionist Association…”
The headline could not be read by machine (it read “All Palls Together”); the title shown is the article’s opening words. Read the scan for the printed headline.
Free Citizen1971Loyalism and unionismNo public scan is online for this item; the text below was read from a privately held copy.
Machine-read text, not corrected. Cut from the scan by machine, by the size of the headline type. Where columns were set close together, lines of a neighbouring article can run in, and a headline can be missed so that two articles share a page. For anything you quote, read the scan.
Scan page 4
Monday night's "special monthly meeting" of Lurgan Unionist Association (South West Branch) at which Protestant Unionist lan Paisley was guest speaker brought the rats scurrying from their holes. Hundreds of so-called 'official' Unionists displayed their true colours.
The Belfast Telegraph neatly sumnr ed up the actual Official Unionist attitude. It complained that Official Unionism had come to a pretty pass when Paisley, who bitterly opposed them at the polls and whose avowed aim is to oust Chichester-Clark, was chief guest on an Official platformin Lurgan. |.
Present, naturally, when a vote of no confidence in Chi-Chi and his government was passed, was anybody's dog-for-a-bone and Lurgan's M.P., Bertie Mitchell (he's now dropped his Territorial Army rank of Captain that he used throughout the progrom periods). The vote of no confidence was unanimous. Bertie, now desperately flirting with arch-bigot himself, has conveniently forgotten his famous pledge ''I am resolved to give this government the fullest support in bringing into force its programme of reform" (Lurgan Unionist Central Branch meeting October 1969). It would never do for failed icecream man Bertie to be frozen out when Ian ultimately licks Clark.
Another 'Official' Unionist there was ex-Cork extrovert Stephen Preston who tried to steal the Unionist nomination-for the Armagh seat at Westminster from Jack Maginnis by dashing daringly to the Right (only to be upstaged by Maginnis's deal with Paisley). It's good to see Stephen in there still pitching. Former T.V. interviewer Preston in a guttersnipe Daily Telegraph article last :year sneered that Ballymurphy was hot-bed of Venmereal disease. Doctors staffing Belfast's V.D. clinics floored him. There's the makings of a good Protestant Unionist M.P. there!
Chief organiser of Paisley's appearance was branch chairman and Lurgan's mayor, Billy Gordon. He told 'Official' Unionist to mind their own business about the invitation to Paisley to speak. Gordon can't go too far, though. This traitor to his own class - he's employed as a storeman at one of Lurgan's big shops - is a front man for local industrialists who aren't always Paisley fans.
Another to emerge badly is poshaccented Jim Morton (Morton Newspapers, Cityweek, Farmweek, Derry Sentinel etc.) whose Lurgan Mail has abandoned its O!Neilite position. Two years ago in an ecstacy of O'Neillism the Mail announced its permanent refusal to accept Paisley advertisements. Under pressure Morton's backbone has jellied. Last week's Lurgan Mail carried a 3" x 3" Column's advert ("all Loyalists welcome. God Save the Queen") publicising Paisley's guest appearance. Money talks, eventually.
Anyway, it's good that the Mad Mayor should know who his friends are in the Craigavon area.