We look at the stories that were making the headlines in the Andersonstown News this week back in 1985...
Ardoyne people open new Community Centre
OVER 20 community groups held a people's opening of the new Ardoyne Community Centre on Tuesday, October, 1st.
The public opening was prompted by the refusal of City Hall councillors to invite Sinn Féin representatives to the opening ceremony. The local groups were also angry at the amoung of money being spent on the official 'junket' and felt this would entail the waste of money which should be spent on more resources for the centre. Among the groups represented at the 'people's opening' were Ardoyne Naiscoil, Ar B. Gateway, Ardoyne Assoc, Celtic Supporters Club, Women's Keep Fit, Ardoyne Women's Aid Group and Conradh na Gaeilge. Councillor Will Glendenning presided at the official opening on Wednesday 2nd October. Local Councillor Gerard McGuigan who was barred from the 'official opening' said he was delighted with the people's opening.
"Local people paid for this centre many times over and it is only right that they, rather than a group of strangers should perform the opening," he said.
Editorial
IF attack be the best method of defence, then Paisley and Molyneaux are defending their interests very well indeed with their opposition to the Anglo-Irish talks.
Before any agreement has been reached they have elicited a written response from Margaret Thatcher which guarantees that the Unionist position will remain unchanged, no matter what the outcome of the talks. Nevertheless, they are leaving nothing to chance and the huffing and puffing will continue up until the very last moment, so that their cause will not go by default. How different the response from the Nationalist side.
John Hume and the S.D.L.P. are skulking in the corner like so many hungry dogs, hoping that whatever crumbs fall from the conference table will be enough to sustain them for a little while longer.
The much lauded All Ireland Forum Report has been reduced to a political Live Aid programme for the S.D.L.P. in order to rescue them from their own "Ethiopian" wilderness. That the political representatives of 60 per cent of the Nationalist population should be reduced to such penury of word and action is sad indeed, and we have no doubt that they will find out before long that the Nationalist people won't be used as pawns in this political chess game, without ever being consulted about what the outcome might be, or even asked what they would like.
Sinn Féin hasn't been much better. It may be good politics to let the authors of these abortive Anglo-Irish talks stew in their own juice, but they have passed over a marvellous opportunity to bring the debate to the people and let them discuss the issues. This is what radicalism is all about, and now that they have lost the doubtful advantage of participating at council meetings, it is about time that they brought the message to the ordinary people in their own areas and let them decide their destiny without the patronising overtures of elected representatives.
YOUNG FUN: A lot of happy young faces from the archives of the Andersonstown News back in September 1985
Make sure you can vote!
THE Electoral Office has appealed to anyone who is unsure of their position on the current electoral list to contact them immediately.
Some potential voters have been contacted by the Chief Electoral Officer, P.J. Connolly, who is now preparing the 1986 register, to inform them that they may not be entitled to vote at local or Assembly elections because they were born outside the Six Counties. The letter which has been sent to a number of local people who were born in the 26 Counties reads, in part: "While you have the necessary qualifications which entitle you to be registered for United Kingdom Parliamentary and European Assembly Elections, it would appear, on the basis of the information given, you are not qualified to vote at Northern Ireland elections. This is because: (b) A citizen of the Republic of Ireland must have been duly registered in the 1962 Northern Ireland Register of Electors as a person entitled to vote at Northern Ireland elections. Accordingly, I propose to include your name on the List of Electors with an ‘I’ qualification indicating you will be eligible to vote at United Kingdom Parliamentary and European Assembly Elections only."
However, speaking to the Andersonstown News yesterday, Mr. Connolly stressed that no-one had as yet been denied a vote in local elections. "We are not turning anyone down. We are simply telling them that because they were not born in the North – perhaps they were born in Manchester, Australia or Dublin – that we need additional information to see if they can qualify for full voting rights," he said.
The letter we have sent out encourages people to come to us. I find that by talking to people I can get a lot of information which would be difficult to put on a form." Mr. Connolly said that the majority of people who query their electoral status "go away very happy." About 90 per cent of those who contact the Electoral Office and provide additional information find they are entitled to vote in all elections. Voters born in the 26 Counties who have been contacted by the Electoral Office will not be deprived of a vote in Six County elections if: (a) They were born before 1949 (they would then possess dual nationality). (b) Their parents were born in the Six Counties. If a person was born after 1949, he or she may still be entitled to full voting rights if their name was on the ‘1962 Northern Ireland Register of Electors as a person entitled to vote at Northern Ireland elections.'
"We are here to ensure that anyone entitled to a vote gets it," said Mr Connolly. "We would encourage anyone who feels they have been hard done by, to contact us immediately."
