18/03/2008
Paisley Pat's Day Proposal Put Off
When the seminal DUP politician Dr Ian Paisley steps down as First Minister in May, he is unlikely to see his proposal for St Patrick's Day to be designated a public holiday in Northern Ireland going ahead.
A spokesman for the DUP said that while the day might have a religious significance, it was not top of the party's agenda to have it designated an official holiday.
"Dr Paisley has called for this a number of times," he said.
"I think it's certainly something that hasn't featured on our manifesto. It hasn't been discussed very widely in the party."
Dr Paisley - who will continue to sit as an MLA and MP - said he always celebrated the day by preaching about the saint and believed March 17 should be a day off for everyone on the island.
"I have proposed it in the House of Commons and I have proposed it here," the North Antrim MP said. "Maybe they'll celebrate my passing by saying to St Patrick 'you can have a day to yourself'."
Meanwhile, although Dr Paisley has previously claimed that the holy man was a Protestant and said: "I know he was a Protestant. So I think we should have St Patrick's Day as a national holiday", he failed to explain how - as historians estimate - St Patrick came to Ireland from Wales in about 500 AD, some thousand years before the Protestant Reformation.
(BMcC)
A spokesman for the DUP said that while the day might have a religious significance, it was not top of the party's agenda to have it designated an official holiday.
"Dr Paisley has called for this a number of times," he said.
"I think it's certainly something that hasn't featured on our manifesto. It hasn't been discussed very widely in the party."
Dr Paisley - who will continue to sit as an MLA and MP - said he always celebrated the day by preaching about the saint and believed March 17 should be a day off for everyone on the island.
"I have proposed it in the House of Commons and I have proposed it here," the North Antrim MP said. "Maybe they'll celebrate my passing by saying to St Patrick 'you can have a day to yourself'."
Meanwhile, although Dr Paisley has previously claimed that the holy man was a Protestant and said: "I know he was a Protestant. So I think we should have St Patrick's Day as a national holiday", he failed to explain how - as historians estimate - St Patrick came to Ireland from Wales in about 500 AD, some thousand years before the Protestant Reformation.
(BMcC)
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A sunny but frosty start for many. However cloud increases by midday with a few showers reaching the north coast, these mostly light but spreading inland this afternoon. Chilly. Maximum temperature 8 °C.Tonight:A rather cloudy evening with scattered showers. Becoming drier through the night with some good clear spells developing and a patchy frost away from coasts. Minimum temperature 0 °C.