Post by earl on May 22, 2008 15:40:48 GMT
The soldier who crossed over to join the other side
Former UDR man Harvey Bicker, from Co Down, tells Laurence White why his love of military history led him to switch from unionism to joining Fianna Fail
Former Ulster Unionist councillor Harvey Bicker sent shockwaves through local politics in February when he announced that he was joining Fianna Fail. It was one of the most dramatic defections in the history of Irish politics — a former unionist throwing in his lot with the traditional republican party in the Republic.
But to him it was no great deal — indeed it was just a matter of pragmatism.
He has spent many years working with successive Dublin governments to create lasting memorials to Irish military history on both sides of the border.
And the 69-year-old Co Down former soldier and businessman has also been a close friend of Irish President, Mary McAleese.
"It really wasn't a party political decision in the truest sense of the word," he says of his decision to join Fianna Fail (Soldiers of Destiny).
"I have been networking and trying to bring projects forward with the government down there. I find myself doing that most of the time and I have been meeting more politicians down there than up here. It is simply a question of trying to get the most influence that I can".
Although he is not explicit in his comments, it is clear that he has little time for the divisions of party politics in Northern Ireland.
"I originally come from a small village, Poyntzpass, where there were people of all persuasions. They didn't care what persuasion their neighbour was from. I had pals from all persuasions in my youth. I was not born into a ghetto situation," he explains.
As a young man, two of his pals were the fathers of Damien Trainor and Philip Allen — the best friends, one Catholic, one Protestant — shot dead by loyalists in the village in March 1998. "I was brought up to judge people on what contribution they could make and how they stood in the community as decent fellows," he says.
Much of his life has been devoted to military matters.
He joined the Royal Ulster Rifles in the mid-Sixties. The regiment then became the Royal Irish Rangers in 1967 and then in 1972 he joined the Ulster Defence Regiment, serving in it for 20 years before retiring with the rank of Lt Colonel. The ending of his military service, however, led to a continuing and deepening involvement in military history.
As well as a trustee of his old Royal Ulster Regiment Museum in Waring Street, Belfast, he was appointed a trustee of the Irish National War Memorial at Islandbridge in Dublin — the war memorial for all the Irish dead from World War One. The Memorial had been funded by money collected after the Great War but it had fallen into a state of disrepair and disuse from 1929.
"Along with others, I encouraged the Irish Government to carry out a lot of restoration work on the National Memorial.
"Over the last 25 years or so the Irish Government has supported the restoration of the gardens.
"The National Memorial consists of a park of 50 acres on the opposite side of the Liffey from Phoenix Park. As well as the actual memorial to the dead, it also has two small buildings which hold the records of the war dead from throughout Ireland." Mr Bicker is also involved in organising lectures and field trips for those interested in Irish military history and has been a strong supporter of the efforts by Londonderry loyalist Glen Barr and Fine Gael TD Paddy Harte to create the Island of Ireland Peace Park at Messines in Flanders, which was opened by President McAleese in November 1998 in the presence of Queen Elizabeth and King Albert II of Belgium.
"To me that was a project which took an all-Ireland approach to honour all the Irish dead of World War One." Mr Bicker also helped form the Military Heritage of Ireland Trust — a body set up to commemmorate Irish soldiers who saw military service across the world throughout the centuries, in campaigns as diverse as the French colonial wars, the Spanish Civil War, the American Civil War and service with the British Army.
The trust, with financial support from the Irish government, has taken over the former Collins Barracks in Dublin and transformed it into a museum. " This is just the beginning of the story. We want to establish a military archive tracing the involvement of Irish soldiers in various campaigns throughout the world and to make those records available for academic and historical research. Ultimately, we would hope that those records would be available online to serious researchers throughout the world," he says.
Although military service and military heritage has played a huge part in his life, he also found time to found a successful engineering firm of which he is now chairman and to serve as a councillor with Down District Council from 1997-2004.
He resigned from the council in 2004 for two reasons — one was to take over as chairman of a working party set up to make recommendations to the Department of the Environment at Stormont on the establishment of a national park in the Mournes (that report was handed over to Environment Minister Arlene Foster last September), and secondly to allow the new co-opted Ulster Unionist member to make an impact before the next local government elections.
His career as a councillor coincided with a burgeoning friendship with President McAleese. "When she was running for office in 1997, I became interested in her determination to build bridges between the two parts of Ireland and between communities.
"I discussed her views with her and decided to support her campaign in whatever way I could.
"When she was elected I worked with her on issues embracing people all over Northern Ireland and helped to pave the way for her in some parts of the unionist community.
"When she was reappointed to the post of president for another seven years in 2004 she appointed me to her Council of State which consists of former taoisigh and presidents as well as five lay people.
"There are two from Northern Ireland, myself and Professor Denis Moloney.
"If the government takes a decision which citizens think is unconstitutional, they can raise the matter with the President and the Council of State will give her their opinion." Mr Bicker has no regrets of the path he has chosen in his political life. "Since I have been on this journey I have found lots of other people joining me in the last few years.
"I may have crossed the bridge first but I will not be the last one to cross it," he adds.
Former UDR man Harvey Bicker, from Co Down, tells Laurence White why his love of military history led him to switch from unionism to joining Fianna Fail
Former Ulster Unionist councillor Harvey Bicker sent shockwaves through local politics in February when he announced that he was joining Fianna Fail. It was one of the most dramatic defections in the history of Irish politics — a former unionist throwing in his lot with the traditional republican party in the Republic.
But to him it was no great deal — indeed it was just a matter of pragmatism.
He has spent many years working with successive Dublin governments to create lasting memorials to Irish military history on both sides of the border.
And the 69-year-old Co Down former soldier and businessman has also been a close friend of Irish President, Mary McAleese.
"It really wasn't a party political decision in the truest sense of the word," he says of his decision to join Fianna Fail (Soldiers of Destiny).
"I have been networking and trying to bring projects forward with the government down there. I find myself doing that most of the time and I have been meeting more politicians down there than up here. It is simply a question of trying to get the most influence that I can".
Although he is not explicit in his comments, it is clear that he has little time for the divisions of party politics in Northern Ireland.
"I originally come from a small village, Poyntzpass, where there were people of all persuasions. They didn't care what persuasion their neighbour was from. I had pals from all persuasions in my youth. I was not born into a ghetto situation," he explains.
As a young man, two of his pals were the fathers of Damien Trainor and Philip Allen — the best friends, one Catholic, one Protestant — shot dead by loyalists in the village in March 1998. "I was brought up to judge people on what contribution they could make and how they stood in the community as decent fellows," he says.
Much of his life has been devoted to military matters.
He joined the Royal Ulster Rifles in the mid-Sixties. The regiment then became the Royal Irish Rangers in 1967 and then in 1972 he joined the Ulster Defence Regiment, serving in it for 20 years before retiring with the rank of Lt Colonel. The ending of his military service, however, led to a continuing and deepening involvement in military history.
As well as a trustee of his old Royal Ulster Regiment Museum in Waring Street, Belfast, he was appointed a trustee of the Irish National War Memorial at Islandbridge in Dublin — the war memorial for all the Irish dead from World War One. The Memorial had been funded by money collected after the Great War but it had fallen into a state of disrepair and disuse from 1929.
"Along with others, I encouraged the Irish Government to carry out a lot of restoration work on the National Memorial.
"Over the last 25 years or so the Irish Government has supported the restoration of the gardens.
"The National Memorial consists of a park of 50 acres on the opposite side of the Liffey from Phoenix Park. As well as the actual memorial to the dead, it also has two small buildings which hold the records of the war dead from throughout Ireland." Mr Bicker is also involved in organising lectures and field trips for those interested in Irish military history and has been a strong supporter of the efforts by Londonderry loyalist Glen Barr and Fine Gael TD Paddy Harte to create the Island of Ireland Peace Park at Messines in Flanders, which was opened by President McAleese in November 1998 in the presence of Queen Elizabeth and King Albert II of Belgium.
"To me that was a project which took an all-Ireland approach to honour all the Irish dead of World War One." Mr Bicker also helped form the Military Heritage of Ireland Trust — a body set up to commemmorate Irish soldiers who saw military service across the world throughout the centuries, in campaigns as diverse as the French colonial wars, the Spanish Civil War, the American Civil War and service with the British Army.
The trust, with financial support from the Irish government, has taken over the former Collins Barracks in Dublin and transformed it into a museum. " This is just the beginning of the story. We want to establish a military archive tracing the involvement of Irish soldiers in various campaigns throughout the world and to make those records available for academic and historical research. Ultimately, we would hope that those records would be available online to serious researchers throughout the world," he says.
Although military service and military heritage has played a huge part in his life, he also found time to found a successful engineering firm of which he is now chairman and to serve as a councillor with Down District Council from 1997-2004.
He resigned from the council in 2004 for two reasons — one was to take over as chairman of a working party set up to make recommendations to the Department of the Environment at Stormont on the establishment of a national park in the Mournes (that report was handed over to Environment Minister Arlene Foster last September), and secondly to allow the new co-opted Ulster Unionist member to make an impact before the next local government elections.
His career as a councillor coincided with a burgeoning friendship with President McAleese. "When she was running for office in 1997, I became interested in her determination to build bridges between the two parts of Ireland and between communities.
"I discussed her views with her and decided to support her campaign in whatever way I could.
"When she was elected I worked with her on issues embracing people all over Northern Ireland and helped to pave the way for her in some parts of the unionist community.
"When she was reappointed to the post of president for another seven years in 2004 she appointed me to her Council of State which consists of former taoisigh and presidents as well as five lay people.
"There are two from Northern Ireland, myself and Professor Denis Moloney.
"If the government takes a decision which citizens think is unconstitutional, they can raise the matter with the President and the Council of State will give her their opinion." Mr Bicker has no regrets of the path he has chosen in his political life. "Since I have been on this journey I have found lots of other people joining me in the last few years.
"I may have crossed the bridge first but I will not be the last one to cross it," he adds.