Non Gamstop CasinoNon Gamstop CasinoNon Gamstop CasinoNon Gamstop CasinosNon Gamstop CasinosNon Gamstop Casinos
Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland
  Orange Standard

Regrets Over Demise Of Belfast Shipyard

Article 1 ~ March 2003

There must have been many Orangemen in Belfast and surrounding areas feeling very sad when the last remaining ship on the order book of Harland and Wolff's shipyard went down the slipway, and according to most experts, bringing an end to a century and a half of shipbuilding in Belfast.

All Ulster people with a feeling for 'The Yard' will have experienced pangs of regret, but none more so than the Belfast Orangemen. Generations of Orangemen, especially those from East and North Belfast worked in the Queen's Island.

There are many Orange families with a shipbuilding tradition, and a number of Belfast Orange Lodges have close connections with the Island and its various shipbuilding trades.

Unless there is a dramatic turn in events, it looks as though the days of building ships at Queen's Island are over, and that is a desperate shame. Ironically, a few days after the publicity about the last ship in Belfast, it was announced in the House of Commons that two huge aircraft carriers are to be built for the Royal Navy.

These ships are not due to go into service until the years 2011 and 2014, and in the meantime it will give a lot of work to shipyards in Scotland and the North of England, as well as France. Yes, a French company is to do roughly one-third of the work, and in all this it is extremely disappointing to find that Belfast has been left out.

There has been talk that some of the finishing and fitting out work might go to Harland and Wolff but don't bank on it. There are now only a few hundred workers employed at the Island where 35,000 men were employed in 1945, and even as recently as 1961 there were over 20,000.

By the time the new aircraft carriers are being fitted out, many of the skills carried down in Belfast shipbuilding will have been lost. Once a firm has closed and its workers and potential workers go to other industries and professions, it will be hard to replace.

Shipbuilding is the latest in a long string of Northern Ireland industries to suffer from the twin effects of cheap overseas labour, and the devastating impact of the European Common Market - now the European Community.

Ulster's once prosperous fishing industry faces immense problems, and agriculture, so long the rock of Northern Ireland society and industry is facing unprecedented difficulties. An industry once the envy of most of Europe is struggling to keep its head above the financial parapet, and as the EC grows, with more countries from Eastern Europe taking out membership, it means the erosion of financial aid to Ulster agriculture and increased subsidies to the newcomers.

It's a real tribute to Ulster workers and to the people of this province that in spite of the loss of so many once might industries and firms that the gap in many places has been filled by new firms and new jobs.

But Northern Ireland, facing transport, fuel and other costs not experienced to the same extent on the mainland, needs extra help from the British Government. This means increased investment, a drive to bring new industries, and a strengthening of the infra-structure.

There are many once prosperous parts of Belfast which have gone into sharp decline due to the closure of Mackies, the Ropeworks, shipyard and other industries. Housing has deteriorated and the atmosphere is a depressing one of decline and decay.

Millions need to be pumped into these areas to provide modern housing, and an all-out effort made to bring in more jobs and investment. The Belfast Agreement promised many things, not least an invigorated economy and massive provision of jobs. So far there has been no delivery on either front, and that hasn't helped pro-Agreement politicians to 'sell' what a majority of Unionists, and most Orangemen believe to be a flawed deal which is much more to the benefit of republicans and nationalists.

Back to Back ~ Orange Standard Home ~ Issue Index ~ Next Article

The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland
Schomberg House, 368 Cregagh Road, Belfast, BT6 9YE
T: +44 (0) 28 9070 1122 ~ F: +44 (0)28 9040 3700
Buy Online - the best way to buy

© Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland 2002-2006

Site Map

Web Design by www.truska.com