Ulster History Circ￿AnnUal Report 2022-2023
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24 1?16
John Herlvel Plaque
. Su8*n HeD¥el, dJuBhterof &Jhn Hen¥d.
L-R Sugan Her￿1. Piolet8orW*s￿￿ CBE OL, Lcrfd W 018etrA*. Kth. Cc4ry•.
j￿n¥ Lèndtym, ¥enwrwwl¥4￿j guests.
Annual Report and Accounts 2022-2023
illlam
ARRAT
I6￿+￿1768
Wllll8m St•rr#t Plaqu•.
. Rob•rt Lowry S¢ott. L￿￿ LN?Lrten•nl lor Co Tyrone il* pw
. L-R Rob•rt Lwy Scott, LL, Chds Swrv, ch•l￿F￿￿LIStsr CirdD, Tr￿￿ C*Kty.UWSCLN*￿JAhj￿
K•￿h Kerr¥)￿-Dtrty Cty & Strabane DMMGt Councd.
.ALAn Mil￿r ¥ptr8king VD the works ol iAhlliam Slarral. Ihe Ltsler Scot5 poet
Doroth
Dorothy Park8 Plaque.
. M8yoi ofOC&SOC, Counolkv SDrdin Oufy•nd Jom Smyth A PUFIAol P•*•.
I St. Columb'5 H411, Derry Cty.
Ikxw M¢lntyr8 61N8 a Doroihy P$￿* CLXnPt*Yttffl"OM Ihe Hllkn F￿A￿..
.L.R
J 8ygt¥, Oorothy Byarn. N￿1 MCA￿lIer HWL ond Phlip
1.1gPP
John Herivel plaque
11th November 2022 at 11.00 am
Back- J•nny L•ndrum.Principal-Methodi$t College, Rev. Or Jan•t Unsworth. Board of Governor¥,
Chrls Spurr, Chalmianillster History ci￿le. lan Crozler, CE04Jl8t&r Scots Ag•ney.
Georye Busby and Plp•r, Alan Mccormick
Brlan Moore Plaque.
. Chairman Ulstei History Circle. Chri& spurr¥￿ S￿u￿ McKetrilHC. Ltyd B￿*81. BW.
. The L￿d May Unv￿15 the plaque.
.The exiBnthd lamilns Mor*etogetra *ith tr* Lord Mayor.
Front- Susan H•rl¥•l. Prof•s8orAlastair Adaif. CB& DL4elfas( Dr. Davld AbrutaL GCHQ,
and Deputy Lord IAayor4•lfas( Councillor Michelle Kelly
Registered as a Chatity wrth the Charrty Commission of Northem Ireland.. NIC100124

Ulster History Cirde Annu81 Report 2022-2023
UL*r CirdeAnnual Report 2022-2023
L FIISKA TINC
('l.11.nRATIXCJ'.
CHIEITRS
I.ICHIII'ÈRS
Contents:
Annual Report 2022-2023 Foreword
Members of the Ulster History circ￿ ........
page
Chairman's Foreword.... .
page
The 2022-2023 Blue Plaque Programme..................................................................... page
Images from the 2022-2023 Blue Plaque Programrro................................................. page
Financial Surnrnary..
page
Proposing, Funding at)d Achieving a Blue Plaque........................................................ page
The Dictionary of Ulster Biography............................................................................... page
Further Images from the Circle's 2022-2023 Blue Plaque Prcrfjrarry￿........................
After h¥0 years of unexFEct8d d￿lpt￿)41, the Ubter History circ￿,$ work to wect commemorative blue p18ques
and organise unveiling ceremon*s ha¢1 almost retumed to its usual pattern by April 2022. Over the following
year we were hoping to put up pLaques, but Iwo have been postpone(J, so ten new Circle plaques have
appeared across five counties and in Betfast cty by March 2023. Some of these plaques w8re on hold from
previcwjs yeats on account of CovKI.19. arKI th8y were joined by new additions.
In April 2022 Francis Street in Londondery rang with music when James Maccafferty's plaque wa¥ unveiled,.
in May more music was to the fore In Cr058maglen to celebrate John Hannon. and the uilleann pipes were In
re in CarnliMJgh in June to commemorate Netta Johnston. In September our plaques became dramatic. at thtr
LyricTheatre In Belfast to Mary O'malley. and In Bangor to the new city'5 actor-son Colin Blakely. Thomas Mayne
ReKJ was commernorated in Drumgooland in October. then on Amistice Day John Herivel wa8 remembered
at MethodL8t Col*e, Bellast. To close the calendar year. in November William Starrat had his plaque unveiled
in Strabane. February 2023 saw tsvo further plaques throughout this tsvelvemonth. to Dorothy Parke in Derry,
anothor musical event of note, and to Brian Moore in Bewast, bnnging home recognbbon of this tr8nsatlantic
author. All ouf plaque unvwlJng$ aim lo be individual, distinct, and exceptional, and thtr first ¢ilizens of the cilie
and boroughs concemed, family mwnbers of the person commemorated attended the majorty of thp
unwlin9 c•remonw.
Members of the Ulster History Circle 2022-2023
Officers..
Mr Chris Spurr
Or Peter Collins
Mrs Maud Flamill
r Tim Clifford
Chaiman
Vice-chair
Secretary
Treasurer
Mike Catto, Dr. Nuala McAllister Hart. Dr. David Hume MBE. Kenneth INiw. Lram Logan.
Leslie McKeague, Seamu¥ McKee. Brian McKeown, Dr Eibhlin MhKAoidh.
Tr•vor Palkhill M8E. Kirnty Raffan {res￿ned Octotér 20221, Alister McRtrynolds lappoint•d F•brnary 2023}.
Richgrd Froggatt- Editor- The Oici￿nary ol Ulstef Bwraphy.
8eginniThJ in 2012 the Cirde has put up a plaque annually in March to a woman of achievemènt to mark
InternatK)nal Women's Day, except dunng pandèmic year in 2021 and now In 2023 . Although we had a blue
plaque planne(l fvnded lor IWD thts year. circumstances have delayed rts unveilin9 Nor was rt possible to
unveil a Cirde plaqu• th￿ year in any of county.es Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan. It Is th¢ ho￿ that our future
pl•que prcyafamme will 8nsura that toth th￿ ntsn-ctcurren￿ aro exceptions.
In April 2022 thè Circl• tra￿l￿d •n ma&8e io Dublin to pay a courtesy call on Presidènt Mjehael D Higgins at
Aras an Uachtarfdin. This visrt had onginalty planned lor March 2020 but was postponed on account of
covid. For those members present it was a pmiw to meet Pfe$ident Hwgins and his wife to discuss the work
of th• Cirde acr￿8 nine counties of Ulster.
Thi5 report eovtrrs the ptrriod from April 2022 to March 2023. There was a total of 10 eommrtt•• mtr•ts"NJs h•kl
and additionally, the Annual Ger￿ra1 Meeting took plac* in June prior to the Tegular mnthty rrthtiryJ.
A Background Note
Thè Ulst•r History Cirel• Ith• Cird•l wo8 fouThY•d owthirty yèars ago by Jam•8 Hawthom•. th• then Contrtslltr
of BBC Northern Ireland. Observing how people of achieVe￿nt often commemoraled elsewhere
by plaqves. he realised there was no univernal sthwne in place locally to celebrate those persons whose
¥chievements had made a significant c0ntnbut￿ln to the htstory of Ulster MT Hawthorn? ￿n$￿￿ered Ihere wa$
an opportunity for a blue plaque programmts and his Inspiration created Th6 Ulster Htstory Circle fint Crtlè
plaque was to the artist William Conor and is on Stranmillis Road. Belfast. opposite Botanic Gardens.
The Circle usualty fvihjs ts AGM in May. Our 2021 AGM wa¥ delayed until February 2022. and then our 2022
AGM was helJ in June 2022. We sincerety trust that we are now back lo our pattern of rneeting regularty
thioughout the year and delivenThJ our plaque programme without undue Inttrrruption. Our volunteer mernbers
continue to gwe th&ir invaluable support to the Circk. generously sharing their expertise and knowledge. All
deserye thanks Iof the contnbution they makè to tsur effgrts, especially those who volunteer to lead a plaque
unvwling nwber left our committee during the year. and anot￿1 was welcorned.
Since this beginning in the mid 19808. the Circle has pul up 263 plaques to c•lebrat• ￿hl￿rn. in •￿ry county
and city in Northem Ireland. and in many towns and villages too. There are ten Circle plaques in tts Republic of
Ireland. four In Co Donegal. kn In Co Monaghan and four In Co Cavan. Every year the blue plaque prr*Jramme
continues to expand. thanks to those who support rts acti¥rti•s. There Is no similar body within the Who￿ tsland
of Ireland doing what the circ￿ does. With no monies of rts own. The Ulster History Cirde relies on financé from
outside funders, and Its activitie5 depend on the ellorts ol rts m?rnber5. a wholly volunieer wcrfking committee.
which has a number limited by constrtution, to h%*nty.
Thank3 are due to those bOd￿S who have supportttd the plaques we have put up during the past year.. Derry
CAY and Strabane Distnct CouncAI, Foras Na Gaeilge. Carnlough Community A¥￿18110n. the Lyric Theatre.,
Ards and North Dthvn Borough Council, Armagh City. Banbridge an¢J Craigavon Borough Ctsuneil. the Ubtgr-
Scots Agen￿, and Bellast Cty Counal. Strv•ral of these organisats'ons have committed to a partnership with
lh* for one annual plaque or more.
The D￿'Onary of Ulster Biography represents an important part ol the Cl￿￿,& work and includes thousands r
•ntries. The Didionary. muc* broader In scope than our plaque programme. offers a rich and continual,
expanding basè of entries. all wrrtlen ond ediled in a voluntary capacity to an extremety hoh standard. and ha
its Imn websrte at %*ww.ul8terbiogmphy.￿.Uk
Ulster History Clrcle - Dublin Vlslt
11th Aprll 2022
The Cirde ahvays ha5 a busy prograrnn￿ of plaque unveilings in progress. but it is possib￿ to propose a person
0faCh￿ment for consvjerabon. Hty￿¥tr. rt 15 advisable to un(Jerstand that many ofthe proposals we receive
for 8 blue plaque are not aNvays accepted. It is also Important to remember that any new plaque proposal must
ir¥J￿ale hu4V this mwhl be fvnded. as the Circle has no money of our own. To discover more about our pi8que
Ptograme. l encourage you lo read Ihe inf0m￿tIOn induded in thisAnnual Report, or to access the How the
Scherre Works page on our web sit• at www.uk4terhi5torycirde.org.uk
VL8rt by m•mbèrs of th• Ulstsr History Cirek• to
Aras an Uachtarain to meet President Michael D.
Higgins and his wife. Sabina.
Back row" firn Clifford, Ke￿r￿ Irvine, Leslie
M¢Keague, Dr Nuala M¢Allister Hart, Dr. Eibhlin
Mhi¢Aoidh. Brian McKeown, Seamus M¢Kee.
In conclusion. rt is my p￿asure On￿ again to Ihank all those who have supported the Ulstef History Circle
across the past year. both wrth funding and In friendship. and to thank in advance those who will do so in the
ftrture.
Front row." Maud Hamill. Chris Spurr, Dr. Peter
Collins.
Chris Spurr. Chairnian, May 2023.

Ulster History Circle Annual Rewl 2022-2023
Ulstw History Cirde Annual Report 2022-2023
ICHIEIIRS
I ACHIEVEK
The Blue Plaque Programme 2022-2023
The Blue Plaque Programme 2022-2023
Plaqu•
Numbqr
P•r4on
c0￿me￿Or•I•d
Lo¢•tytsn dl Pl*4u•
O&tr of
lJnv•lllnu
Unv•lknd
254
Jarnb# IAatCaff•trty
11916-199SI
u*l¢l*n, T￿ckn￿,
Ch01rn￿*ter.
F￿# Dolre
25 Fiancis Slfeel
Derry Cty
22fdAy
Grtham ￿th&MaY(
of tkrry Cty & SirabAne
Derry City &
Strabane
CtrJntil
lohn
HANNON
IW-1931
Math. Pataxl Un
m￿Ca￿erty
John H4nrbon {1B67-t9311
Scho14r, Colkctor ol
•po*¢n Irl•h ol Fvw•
20 Nthry Street
cross￿g￿Tr
2fAh IAay
Sean O Co
CEO Fr*as na Gae
John Hannon Plaque.
. utyiw ¢hAKnw, E￿Ift ubtsr Clr(* the8¥8rf ID Crrmm8a*n.
. l.RK￿&n Mccon￿1￿. Ch•fftMn£rÈyJ￿ r)•¥￿Trin￿le Sean Ocekn. CEO ofFfrf•e G•ellg8
2S6
N•tt• J•nv tr41choll
Jvhn•ton11879-198)1
Uill••nD Plp•r, T••chv of
u•ic.'Th• Lady Plpqrol
Cimlough,
19.21 Manng Ro*1
Carr￿￿jg￿
30th Ju
Rov VK491 Jthr*iiMI.
C¥inkx
C(Mnmw¥ty
. Ilewrty •Awr NM&fK. CKwh c￿¥￿￿NArAr* Fywn, MLA£cwMurphy. NkKwhr-Ul$l•r Hhlory Clr¢l•
2S7
M*ry O'M#lhy
1191B-20061
LyncThe*t
55 Slr••l
Bema
& ol Mary O'Mal*.
Ihlnrfred Bem
CtyFound•r Lyrfc Pl•y•r•
Cdln 8l•k•ly
11930-19871
Slay •nd *r••nA¢¢or
241h
Cw&irw SM*
BL*ko
IOHNSTON
13 Ro*J
Batyoi
Thomai Il•yn• R•ld
DrurryodaThY
PresbylenaD c￿L¥ch
251h
magh Cty.
CourK4*x Paul Gr•enfiBld
•nd AdV•n￿rnT
Rothy. Chjbme
Co D￿n
N•ii• J•n• Nlcholl Johnston Plaque.
. ct¥* Swrr. Chwrn￿.UHC wth Vkn, Camwh CcqrrfMtyAucdlllKm aryj Cwty Mayor of M&EAC. CouncillDI eelhAdger M8E.
. L* lJl••nn pw. K￿￿¥. D•vNI Hum•, Mwy Wx*, 8•ihAdgor. R•v Jthnsloff, niK• Df J¥M• N￿￿11 John•t￿ who
John H•fv•l
14ethodMI Co*tr
1 Ro•Y
ethY•61
11th
CBE OL.Belt•gt.
HI￿1. d•tyJMw
M•th•m•¥¢l•n
Cod•bv••k•r
Bl•t¢hl•y P•rk IMO
TheAI*
1A Raikn8y Slie•t
Slrab4ne
25th
Robort ScrAt
Lord Lthrten•M
Cory
uhtsr.seo
11690-17681
Phllomaih. L4nd
SuTh•yor. E4ty
Ul•t•r-S¢ots Po•1 1722
X2
Ooiolhy Pa￿•
Sl ColUn￿'S H&•
Stro
2W23
SaThJia Oufy.
ayorot DeTry Crty
Strabane DMIr￿1
Owryctyw
SliabJDe ch51￿*
CL¥Jnul
1¢14n •nd Compomr
OeFTy C
Mary O'Mall8y Phque.
O'Mal*. olmnry O'MDley ond Wlnrfr*J 8eM of Mqry. b*JepW LytK.
•JinThy Fay. Ex•xrtNe ThBth {iiiNl**h dynit4rM inc4u£*fj. Stethn Lh2thd•. c￿re Conor O'M41*,
Brlin 14oor•
11921-19991
Nov4ll•t and
Sern•n￿r
Clthn Str
Suryery
15-17 Clthn Slreet
Bell8st
21
B¢thtCty
rim BI
. ¢knts ar￿ InETrJs atth2 In R*eway Street. 8elh51
lames
M2cCAFFERTY
Colin
BLAKELY
ty15-19Y5
19Y)_1987
Jam•8 Maccafforty Plaque.
. Family ol Jarnes Mxcaffety ¥wth Mayor(rf￿&SoC, Eancffl Pal
NuakH McAllistsr Hart. 1th5ter Hthy Cir0* ￿￿j ChvA Spurr. Uknr Cwth.
. Guests and ftignds tywpb4ue. FrJnciF Stymt, Ckny Cty.
Colin Blakely Phqu•.
.Arthbr6hop E¥m¢n Marti)vrith N8rn) *¥J C•thal McCai*. R

Ulster History Circle Annual Report 2022-2023
Ulster History Cirde Annual Report 2022-2023
o I IEbPAIIXC,
lTrlTrnMTINC,:
1 4CH1Elf￿,
Ulster History Circle
Proposing. Funding, and Achieving a Blue Plaque
Financial Summary 2022-2023
Receipts and Payments Account ftirth• y•ar ènd￿ 31st Alarch 2023
An Ulster History Circle blue plaque unrtes a person with a bcation in their life. and the Circle carries out careful
and extensive research Into the sile of e￿h plaque Street Indexes are checked over. site visits made. and
*ners and tenants consurted lor pemiission to allow the plaque on their premise5 These activitses can take
ConsK1efab￿ tyrre. especially when seeking permission to put up a plaque. The plaque wording is carefully
thosen. invrtabons are designed and tssued." a person tts unveil the plaque invited,. guest speakers arranged,
as each unveiling is accompanied by a talk on the person being honoured. and family m8rnb8rs. as well as
members ol prolessional bodEs associaled with the plaque recipsent. are contacted and invited. Thè whole is
ra￿[UllY planned and c¢Trordinated. towards ¢reatin9 8 sin9k speoal event.
RecèSpts
Derry & Strabane District Council
Ards & North Down District Council
Belfast Cty Council
Armagh, Banbridge & Craigavon BC
Fora$ na Gaeilge
Camlough Community Associab'on
Lyric Theatre Nl
Ul8ter Scots Agency
Total Grant Incom•
Donations
Payments
Plaque Manufacture and Frtb"n9
Plaque DesvJn
Meetsng Expgn5es
Events
Administration
Printir¥J and Ststior
Insuran
Acujunting
Other
£2,8(Kl
£2,200
£1,2
£1,2C4J
£1,OLX)
£1,0￿j
£1,orxJ
£256
£10,658
£35
1£7.0301
(£5601
(£4801
(£8361
(£881
{£2941
(£5081
(£501
{£3571
a petson must be deceased at ￿ast fftnty years. unless they would have reached their 1Wlh
birthday by the dale of the proposed p18que unveiling
Ihe person must be a550aated wrth Ulst•r Inintr t￿N￿e$l by rèason of birth, edUCat￿n, work,
resKJence, of vocabon.
the person should be acknOW￿d￿j and recogni5ed as having made a svJnificant conlribLttion lo
education, industry. C(xrwr￿TCe. sc*nce. arts ond litera￿￿?, intgm$tJonal affairs or oth•r calling
nYWhe￿ in the worbj.
the person must have a buikling assocsated with them in Ulster.. a place of birth. education,
sIden￿. work. or similar
the Cir¢le5 plaques to ptrrwi$ of achi•v•mtnt and do not commèmorate buildings, place8,
organisations or mov•ftwnts.
Total Exp•ndltu
1£10.2031
Net Incom•
I Incom•
£10,693
Statemont olA•8•twLlabllltl•#
A proposal for a plaque should contsin the rea8ons lor a person's nomination. a short bitrJr8phical nott. and g
8uggttbon of where a pl¥u& M￿ht be located. All proposals shoukl also give an indication of how the
plaque will be lunded The Circle hag no funds ol rts and Tel￿ on such as local oulhorilio$. bu$in¥¥#•$,
organisatsons. and IndNKluals lo pay for il¥ plaqu￿.
Op•nlng R•sour¢•¥
Net Incom•
A••ot• carrlod forward
£9.037
Eath Pfoposal is eartrlully c(Jnsthred by the Circle committee. and if accepted. rt joins the lisl of prospectivè
p￿qUes. The list aN¥ays has a considerabse number of plaques pending. so a new acceptance can tsk•
¢nsKlerable time to prcce5s. Th¢ circ￿ undértak•s all th• necessary work as outlined abtsve in order to
ochk•ve tht plaqLh• unveiling but can only undertake a plaque proi8Ct when funding is agreed beforehand, and
in place. Pmposals for pLiques can be submitted to the Circle at.. ulsterhistorycircle1
gmail.com
R•pre￿nted by..
Balanco per Bonk stat￿nent
Uneashed Cheque$
N•t 8ank Balanc•
£9.072
1£351
È9,037
Th? Cirde'¥ h¥s un￿[91￿* • $4nthc•nt improv•m•nt and i•dw•lopment and can b8 acc8888d at..
*Mw.ukitorhMtoryrArd•.¢xg.uk
The Dictionary of Ulster Biography
Th• of Utsl8r 8wr8phy (DUB) has rts origins in the published work119931 of the same nam?,
C4ynpiled by Kate Newmann Its inrtial 1644 entries were digitised by the Gi￿le in 2007, and form the basis ol
prestrnt on-line DUB. whid) Is edrted, In a voluntary capacity. by the Circle to a very h￿h standard. Many
of the oThJinal entries now include addrtional details, and new entr￿S a￿ added every month. with the res.
thal the DUB currently offers informabon on over tsvo thousand people By publishing on-line, the DUB ￿ntr.
frIMn regular urxlatsng. and there are many eonttmporary entriè5. for although a person must be deceased
to be induded in the di¢Aionary, th• 20-year d•lay related to blue plaques does not apply. The DUB contains
bwraphical infomation on all the persons commemorated in the Circle's Blue Plaque Pro9ramme. including
many of th￿ peopk cèlebratéd by the Cird•'$ pl>4ues up until Mafch 2023.
Ma)r
REID
The DUB has the speaal •Jvantage of bw'ng free for all to arLess, and is easily searchable. It is recognised
as a valuable reference sour(e, and the DUB website receives tens ol thousands of visiloTS every year from
a¢r0$3 the workj.
Thoma8 Mayne Reld Plaque.
. c￿nrAI￿r Paul Greenfiek1, Mayor0f￿lm*9h Cty, Bartb￿Jg&￿￿j pl¥4U?￿￿*j
Anson and He￿On farn11K￿.
. coun￿1￿¥6 forlheABC Council￿th Maw Path Gfeenfiekl. ¥￿tthe Herii•Jfy otys, Sew B8thi •xlJa8(*) Dwrrt*JJ.
. Jarr￿6 MacAuley Shows the Thornas Mayn2 Rekl farnity treetoC*m Swr. Chairm&￿v￿ cl￿1￿.
As wthlhe circ￿.$ plaques, the DU8¢orKems rtsellwrth persons bom in. or strongly associated wrth Uljter The
Edrtor a￿ayS ￿lComeS suggest￿n$ for entrEs from new cont￿b￿Or$, who will receNe lull acknovAedgwnent
of autFKyship. and ca)pynght. althO￿3h there i¥ no payment made lor entrie5.
The Editor can be contacted at Ihe DUB %bEbsite. which 81. vMw.n8wubstetbiogiaphy.co.uk