Svelato monumento UDR a Lisburn

UDR memorial unveiled in Lisburn

A bronze memorial dedicated to the 50,000 men and women who served in the Ulster Defence Regiment has been unveiled in Lisburn.

The sculpture of a UDR soldier and a Greenfinch, created by John Sherlock and located in Market Square, was dedicated by former Church of Ireland Primate Lord Robin Eames.

“I think for most of us memory is the key,” he told UTV. “Memories of faces and courage and great integrity. And also, of course, the tragic loss of so many lives and their families.”

There was an enthusiastic welcome for the former UDR soldiers who marched to the ceremony on Sunday afternoon.

The UDR Memorial Trust says the sculpture – which has been completely financed from UDR funds donated by the public – is intended as a lasting tribute to the courage and dedication to duty of those who served with the regiment.

“I would like to think that people would remember the UDR for helping to keep the peace at a very troubled time in our history and to look back on it and reflect and think about it in those terms,” the chairman of the Trust, Wesley Duncan, said.

But recognising that not everyone would see it in those terms, he added: “It was unfortunate that there were members who did bad things and we’re not trying to hide that.

“But what we would say is that there’s almost 50,000 people who didn’t do bad things – who did good things, who were ordinary decent people who wanted to do the best they could for their country.”

The UDR was formed in Lisburn in April 1970. During the Troubles, 260 serving and former members were murdered and over 400 wounded.