Plaque for Ulster born Lord Mayor of London

Short Biography

Sir William McArthur

Son of a poor Scots-Irish father William McArthur was born at Malin Co. Donegal, in 1809. At the age of 12 he was apprenticed to a woollen draper in Enniskillen. In 1831 he started a woollen export business in the Diamond in Londonderry. In 1841 he became a member of the town council, and that same year his younger brother Alexander went to Australia. William sent his firm’s woollen goods to his brother, who began to operate as an import-export merchant in Sydney. The gold rush increased demand for woollens; Alexander opened branches in various parts of Australia, and the McArthur brothers became wealthy. In 1857 William transferred the headquarters of the firm to London, and settled in Brixton Hill. By the mid-1860s the brothers had extended their activities into banking and insurance. 

In 1868 William was elected junior member for Lambeth, and continued to represent that constituency until the dissolution in 1885. His staunch Methodism informed his politics, and he led the movement in favour of the annexation of Fiji, where there was a strong Methodist missionary presence, achieving his aim in 1874. Apart from colonial affairs, William mainly devoted his attention in the House of Commons to educational or Irish questions.

William became Sheriff of London in 1867, an alderman in 1872 and Lord Mayor in 1880. Throughout his mayoralty he showed an active interest in colonial matters and in religious enterprises, setting a pious tone by forbidding wine, card playing and dancing at the Mansion House. He was one of the founders of the London Chamber of Commerce in 1881, and its first President. On 17 November 1882 he was made KCMG. He was always generous towards Methodist causes, including contributing to the establishment of Methodist College in Belfast, and laying its foundation stone in 1865. On his death he bequeathed over £150,000 to Methodist charities

McArthur died from heart failure on the London Underground on 16 November 1887. He is buried in Norwood cemetery.

The Plaque Unveiling - 26 April 2012

The Plaque

By an irony of fate, total abstainer McArthur's first business premises are now occupied by one of the Wetherspoons chain of pubs, whose founder is the Derry-born Tim Martin, and it is on this temple to the 'demon drink' that his commemorative plaque is prominently displayed.

The threatened rain stayed away and the cool and breezy late morning did nothing to dampen the cheerful and enthusiastic group of local and international businessmen and interested Derry citizens from celebrating the life and achievements of a local entrepreneur. William McArthur had started his business life in this spot and gone on to mighty achievements in London, becoming an international businessman, a Member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of London as well as being the founding President of the London Chamber of Commerce.

Chris Spurr chats with Willie Walsh

Chris Spurr, Chairman of the Ulster History Circle said that when William McArthur opened his first business within Derry's walls in 1831, he little knew this enterprise would lead to him becoming a prominent businessman in London, the city's Lord Mayor, a founder of the London Chamber of Commerce, and its first President. The Ulster History Circle was delighted to commemorate McArthur's achievements with this blue plaque, the tenth in the city, and was grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Derry Chamber of Commerce for their support. He thanked Mr Colm Cavanagh for his valuable help and advice throughout the preparations. He thanked Mr Willie Walsh, the current President of the London Chamber who had come from a very busy business life to unveil the plaque to his distinguished predecessor.

Alderman Maurice Devenney, Mayor of Derry City, welcomed everyone to the City and hoped that their visit would be a pleasant one. Like Sir William, he also was a Donegal man who had settled in the City. He thanked the Ulster History Circle, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce for organising the event.

Gerry Burns, Member of the Heritage Lottery Fund Committee for Northern Ireland said that the Fund was delighted to be involved in this project to raise awareness of individuals like William McArthur who have made significant contributions to the development of our society. The Blue Plaques were an excellent way of linking the buildings where these people once lived or worked to their lives and achievements, enabling us all to learn more about our heritage.

Tim Martin, owner of the Wetherspoons Inns chain, revealed that he had been born in Derry and remained a supporter of Derry City Football Club. He was delighted to be at the unveiling of the plaque on one of the firm's premises.

Colm Cavanagh talks about McArthur

Colm Cavanagh, London~Derry Connections, gave a short but interesting talk about Sir William, whom he described as a role-model for anyone seeking to be a success in life as well as business. Having started his business in Londonderry he expanded into Australia after his brother moved there for the good of his health, eventually moving to London where he became an Alderman and an MP, helping to set up the Chamber of Commerce and becoming its Founding President. His working day started at 6.00 a.m. and he faithfully followed a set of eight 'rules' which included an hour of scripture reading. He never drank alcohol. A devout Methosist all his life, when he died he left £150,000 to Methodist causes. He was grateful to Ulster History Circle for agreeing to erect the plaque to Sir William, to the Londonderry Chamber for inviting Mr Walsh to unveil the plaque to his predecessor and to Mr Walsh for agreeing to do so.

Willie Walsh unveils the plaque

Padraig Canavan, President of the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce, said that the Chamber was pleased that Mr Willie Walsh, CEO of International Airways Group and President of the London Chamber of Commerce, had agreed to speak to the Chamber's Annual President's Lunch and to unveil the plaque to his distinguished predecessor as President of the London Chamber, Sir William McArthur. The Chamber was pleased to support the unveiling and thanked the Ulster History Circle for its work in the City and elsewhere.

Mr Willie Walsh said that when he became President of the London Chamber of Commerce he was described as the first Irishman to hold the position, so it was a surprise to discover that this was not the case and that indeed the founding President in 1881 was also an Irishman. Apart from the fact that they were both Irishmen, he could find little in common other than that they both arose at 6 o'clock in the morning! One major difference was the fact that during McArthur's Presidency no alcohol was allowed in the Mansion House! Indeed looking at the work he had been involved in, he reckoned McArthur was more hard-working than he himself was. He was delighted to have been invited to unveil the plaque and he thanked the Londonderry Chamber and the Ulster History Circle for inviting him.

Next Plaque - Strabane-born industrialist & philanthropist

Next Friday, 3 February,  the Circle unveils a plaque on the Strabane Library in Railway Street to an almost forgotten son of Strabane. Members of the Donnell family will be present as will the Chairman of the District Council, Councillor Brian McMahon.  

Ezekiel J. Donnell was born in the townland of Ballee in 1822. He arrived in America when he was eighteen years old, becoming a successful merchant in Montgomery, Alabama  before moving to New York in 1854 where he established himself as one of the foremost cotton merchants in the United States. 

Ezekiel J. Donnell (1822-1896)

In 1872 he published a Chronological and Statistical History of Cotton and became an acknowledged authority on the industry. He was a strong believer in individual freedom in trade and an active opponent of trade protection. He was one of the earliest advocates of a comprehensive public education system claiming the right of person to be educated at the public expense. In pursuit of these views he donated one million dollars towards building a library where young people could achieve the self-improvement that he saw as essential for the development of economy and society. The donation was to “erect a fireproof building suitable and proper for the purpose of a library…. With a reading room open free every day in which young people can spend their evenings profitably away from demoralising influences.”

This bequest was publicly if rather belatedly recognised in the opening of the Donnell Library Centre in the New York Public Library in December 1955. In May 2008 the Library was temporarily closed while efforts are being made to redevelop the whole New York Public Library site. Ongoing problems about the viability of the planned site have now been resolved and it is planned that the library will reopen in 2014.

Donnell was an active and vocal member many trade organisations and progressive clubs.  Some of his public addresses were published in pamphlet form. 

Donnell died in 1896.

Blue Plaque for Ulster-Scots writer and storyteller

This is a very late report of the unveiling of a blue plaque in Ballyclare on 8 October 2011 to a local man whose fiction and stories were grounded in the observation of the people in his local community around the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 

The occasion was a double celebration as the Ulster-Scots Language Society launched a reproduction of his best-loved book, The Auld Meetin' Hoose Green. Both events were at the Town Hall in the village Square. 

Archibald McIlroy was born in 1859 in a townland close to Ballyclare, where his father was a small farmer. He studied Belfast at the Mercantile Academy and the Royal Belfast Academical Institution. Hving worked as a clerk in the Ulster Bank he set up his own business on his own account. He became a JP, and a member of Down County Council, a position that gave him the chance to promote the cause of land reform, a contentious issue in late-Victorian Ireland.

McIlroy's young son started his writing career by badgering his father for stories. A series of sketches based on his youthful exploits around Ballyclare became McIlroy's first book, When Lint was in the Bell. This book's popularity encouraged him to write The Auld Meetin' Hoose Green in1898, a humorous re-working of tales told to him by his mother, and by workers in the east Antrim countryside. McIlroy uses the true Scotch tongue of the countryfolk in his writing. The book sold well on both sides of the Atlantic.

Five more books followed, By Lone Craig-Linnie Burn, A Banker's Love Story, The Humour of Druid's Island, Burnside and By the Inglee Nook. The popularity of his writing made McIlroy in demand as a lecturer, when he would regale audiences with tales of old Ballyclare. In 1912 he travelled to Canada to work for the Presbyterian Church, but his final journey was to be on the RMS Lusitania, which was sunk off the coast of Cork by a German U-boat on May 7th, 1915. One of almost 1200 souls who perished that day, McIlroy never returned to the land of his birth.

Although the weather was indifferent there was a great turnout of the local people for the occasion. 

In the Town Hall after the ceremony Ronnie Hassard, Principal of Ballymena Academy, McIlroy's biographer spoke movingly about McIlroy's life, work and times. Jeanette McKendry, of the Ballyclare Historical Society read excerpts from The Auld Meetin'-Hoose Green. It was interesting to listen to the authentic voice of the local people over a century ago as conveyed through McIlroy's words.

A musical group from Ballyclare High School entertained the company. It was a wonderful performance and soundly acclaimed. 

In the Town Hall there was an Exhibition of McIlroy's life and work, contributions from the Ballyclare Historical Society, refreshments courtesy of the Borough Council and the launch of the reprinted book by the Ulster-Scots Language Society.

By the end of the day it was clear that Archibald McIlroy was forgotten no longer; the book and the plaque being tangible reminders of his contribution to his community and to the world.

The plain people of Ireland celebrate Myles na gCopaleen

It was raining when I left Downpatrick and it was raining when I got back from Strabane where our blue plaque was unveiled to commemorate the life and works of Brian O'Nolan, Flann O'Brien, Myles na gCopaleen, on the centenary (almost) of his birth. Fortunately the rain stopped near Omagh and stayed dry for my time in Strabane.

Two of Myles' characters in Cruiskeen Lawn (his column in the Irish Times), Keats and Chapman, were discussing dreams. Keats said 'Last night I dreamed that I died and went to Heaven.' 'Were there many there?' inquired Chapman. "There wasn't a sinner in the place.'

The plain people of Ireland (some of them) assembled

That couldn't be said about  the gathering of his relatives, local historians, local political and literary figures who had assembled for the event. The blue plaque ceremony was one of a programmed events extending over several days to mark the centenary. 

The Plaque

That O'Nolan is held in high regard and affection in the town of his birth was plain to see and was  reflected in the Mayor McMahon's welcome and address. There were readings from his works by his great nephew Kevin O'Nolan before he performed the unveiling ceremony. 

Unfortunately I had to leave right after the unveiling and so missed an interesting session including the showing of a film produced by the Strabane History Society. This can be viewed on the Society's website at 

http://www.strabanehistorysociety.com/

Flann O'Brien - a centerary celebration

Brian O'Nolan

On Saturday 1 October next the Circle will unveil a blue plaque in honour of a great writer - novelist, satirist and humourist at the house where he was born. The plaque is but one event organised by Strabane District Council to commemorate the centenary of his birth. The Council, Gaelphobal, Strabane Gaelscoil, Strabane History Society and Libraries NI have compiled a programme of talks, discussions and performances designed to explore his life and work.

Brian O'Nolan (Brian Ó Nualláin), was born into an Irish speaking family and spoke no English before he was seven years old. While at University College Dublin he started his writing career in the college magazine Comhthrom Féinne. He joined the Irish Civil Service and because of this had to use pseudonyms in his writing. His novels were written under the name Flann O'Brien and later his regular satirical column in the Irish Times (Cruiskeen Lawn), which ran from 1940 until his death in 1966, he used the name Myles na gCopaleen. After his death a compilation of these articles was published under the title The Best of Myles a truly marvelous anthology. His novels included At Swin Two Birds, The Third Policeman, The Hard Life, The Dalkey Archive and An Bheal Bocht (The Poor Mouth).

His work has international acclaim and he is regarded as a major figure in twentieth century Irish literature.

The 'Mayfly' returns - honouring a pioneer aviator

By invitation from Newtownabbey Borough Council I attended the official opening of the newly named Lilian Bland Community Park in Glengormley. 

There was a good turnout with both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, representatives of local historical and aviation societies and two of Lillian's descendants, Rev. Edward Pratt, great-grandnephew, and Mrs Imogen Holmes, great-grandneice.  

A major feature of the new park was a sculpture of Lilian's bi-plane, the Mayfly.

Lilian Bland

 Lilian Bland was born in Kent, and at the age of twenty-eight came to live at Tobercoran House, the family home in Carnmoney, near Belfast. By this stage she had earned a reputation as a press photographer and sports writer. Her aspirations were fired by Louis Bleriot's cross-Channel flight in 1909 and she began to construct a bi-plane glider, becoming the first woman in the British Isles, possibly in the world, to design, build and fly her own plane.

Blue Plaque

She named the plane 'Mayfly' with deliberate irony. The 'Mayfly' did fly, and she fitted an engine by A. V. Roe & Co. This modified craft flew successfully in 1910. It is said that her father's offer of a car diverted her attention to running a motor agency, and she then married and left for Vancouver where she married a cousin and carved out a farm on virgin land. In 1935 she retired to Cornwall, 'gambling, painting and gardening' - to quote her own words.  

At the age of ninety-three the Belfast Telegraph quoted her as saying that the only excitement left to her was gambling. 


Some years ago the Circle unveiled a blue plaque on the site of Tobercoran House. Mayfly was presented to the Dublin Flying Club.

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 Alderman William Webb, Mayor of Newtownabbey, addressing the guests

The Mayfly, created by Skelton Rainey, who was at the opening

That which was lost is found!

On 23 July I wrote about the blue plaque to Kennedy Kane McArthur unveiled in Dervock. After the event Chris Spurr and I went down to Portglenone to locate one of the Circle’s earlier plaques; to Timothy Eaton.

Clogher, Ballymena - photo Ballymena Guardian

Eaton was born on a farm in Clogher near Ballymena in March 1934. He served his apprenticeship in the general store owned by a relative by marriage at 48 Main Street Portglenone before he emigrated to Canada in 1854. With his two brothers he opened a general shop in St Mary's, Ontario. Then, in 1868, he moved to Toronto where he set up a store based on the principal of cash sales at fixed prices. Eaton became a highly successful businessman in Canada, establishing the T. Eaton Limited chain of department stores throughout the country and employing over 7,000 staff by the time he died on 31 January 1907. He also pioneered the use of the Mail Order Catalogue. Eaton was an enlightened employer, concerned about the welfare of his staff. For example, he was the first employer to introduce early closing.

James and Helen King at their home in Clogher, Ballymena with the plaque
on the gable.

Unfortunately the Circle had no record of exactly where the plaque had been erected and those involved in the Circle at the time are no longer with us. We had assumed that the plaque was on the premises in Main Street, which is still a General Merchants. However, when Chris and I visited the shop the current owner, who had bought the place in the late 1970s, assured us that there never had been a blue plaque there. There was a rectangular metal one erected in 1969, well before the Circle was formed.

We knew that there was a plaque somewhere so I wrote to Jim Flanagan, the Editor of the Ballymena Guardian asking its readers if they could help. Instead of publishing the letter, Jim decided to do his own investigation and established that the plaque was on Eaton’s original home in Clogher. The story, which occupied almost a full page, ran in the 11 August edition.

The plaque is one of 20 plaques in Co. Antrim. The Circle is grateful to the Ballymena Guardian for its help in tracing the plaque and we can now provide its exact location on our website.