Tuesday 28th August 2018 will always be remembered as a dark day for Northern Ireland. It marked 589 days without a functioning government, surpassing the previous record held by Belgium and it also saw one of the oldest living buildings in Belfast go up in flames before our eyes.
Since the DUP and Sinn Fein split in January 2017 after a bitter row, Northern Ireland has been without a power sharing executive in Stormont. The province is now being run by civil servants, who have limited authority and scope to make public spending decisions on health care, education and justice. With the small matter of what will happen to Northern Ireland when Brexit kicks looming large in the background Dylan Quinn from County Fermanagh decided to establish the ‘We Deserve Better Campaign’ after growing frustrated at the lack of political progress.
The campaign organised 14 protest rallies across the land on Tuesday with demonstrations in Derry/Londonderry; Strabane; Portadown; Dungannon; Newtownards; Newcastle; Newry; Ballyclare; Portrush; Armagh; Enniskillen; Banbridge, Warrenpoint and Bangor. Thousands joined to voice their anger at the absenteeism of politicians in Stormont. The only rally which couldn’t go ahead was the one in Belfast, due to the major fire at Primark’s flagship store after the whole city centre game to a standstill.
The fire cost us the Bank Building, steeped in history, and the hub of a bustling city centre. It cost us a shop which was undergoing £30 million worth of renovations, which would make it the largest Primark in Northern Ireland, and it may have cost most of the 350 strong staff in the store their jobs with many now facing uncertainties over their future with the chain, which are unlikely to be cleared up anytime soon.
Whilst many in the city are devastated at the loss of the listed Bank Building which has stood since 1785 it is important to remember that had it not been for the tremendous work of the Fire Service NI the situation could have been much more bleak.
From the moment the alarm was raised at 11:00 am the Fire Service were on the scene and were able to ensure a swift and safe evacuation of the store before the raging fire tore through the multiple shop floor, reducing them to rubble. They were out for 24 hours straight tackling the blaze and ensured that it was only the building we were left to mourn, not the lives of loved ones.
Now two days on from the fire we took to the streets of Belfast to here what people had to say on the situation here in the city centre and at Stormont.
Those who agreed to talk to us were keen to highlight the loss of such a remarkable piece of architecture with Ronald from Belfast remarking that it was, “Very sad to see such a nice old building gone” and Claire stating that, “It’s heartbreaking to see it destroyed as there are so few of our great Victorian buildings left.”
Ash, an engineer from India was shocked that this could happen to such a well structured property but felt that with enough investment it could still be saved, “If everything is done right I think that they can still salvage this as given the technology we have today there is nothing that cannot be fixed”, he pointed out. Jean from Belfast is gutted to lose a store which she frequently shopped in revealing that she “felt tears in her eyes” when she heard about.
Glen from Bangor was of the opinion that the loss of the shop as well as the building will be detrimental to the city saying that, “It feels like the city centre will never be the same again with the loss of such an iconic building, it just looks completely destroyed. I feel sorry for all the workers in Primark who might lose their jobs.” He went on to commend the efforts of the Fire Service who were still tackling the fire behind us whilst we were talking, “You can’t fault them guys, they put everyone else’s safety before their own. They’ve been working around the clock tirelessly, I can’t believe that they are still here,” he commented.
As we turned our attention to the governmental crisis there were mixed reactions when we asked what could be gone to get our Assembly up and running.
Ronald asserted his thoughts on the matter stating, ‘I’m disgusted with them, (the MLAs), I really am. They are paid to represent us so why don’t they represent us? They need to finish with their private feuds and sort it out,” he continued.
For Claire the problems at Stormont are making Northern Ireland look like a “laughing stock”. She added that the issues holding us back are ones which can be “very easily resolved” and that they make us look “ridiculous to the rest of Europe”. She went on to say that the MLA’s are, “doing a disservice to the people of Northern Ireland who need a government”.
Glen believes that the crisis here is “beyond fixable” and that Northern Ireland will soon be under Direct Rule from Westminster again. “I think the two main parties have differences so deep that neither of them will budge. I think they will end up having to go back to England,” was his reply when questioned on the matter. He went on to say that the MLAs need to “grow up” in order to resolve the problems at hand.
James doesn’t think anything will change anytime soon, “The government is a joke, with or without an active parliament. It is just two sides constantly trying to one up each other and the only people affected are those who voted them in in the first place.” he said.
Jean is more optimistic, and is convinced that the government can get up and running again but admits it will, “take a lot of effort from both sides who need to put their differences aside to reestablish Stormont again”. When asked to give a message to the MLAs she replied, “I just ask them all to think of the future and what they are leaving for their children and grandchildren. I hope looking ahead motivates them to make a change now”.
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