UUP leader honours British soldiers killed during Rising

The Ulster Unionist Party leader Mike Nesbitt has praised the Royal British Legion for commemorating British soldiers who lost their lives in 1916 Easter Rebellion.

Mr Nesbitt was in Co Down on Sunday with Legion members to remember 19-year-old Alexander “Sandy” McClelland, who was killed in the Rising.

He had volunteered to join his elder brother on the Western Front but was sent to Dublin amid rumours of a rebellion, and died on the 27th April 1916, Mr Nesbitt said.

The UUP leader added that 29 of the 116 soldiers who died in 1916 including Alexander McClelland were from Irish regiments.

Mr Nesbitt attended a parade from Greyabbey to Rifleman McClelland’s grave at St Saviour’s Parish Church, a few miles from his home in Balligan on the Ards peninsula on Sunday.

He commended the legion for honouring the soldier and the other British soldiers killed in Dublin 100 years ago.

“It was good to see the Royal British Legion take steps to ensure we remembered all who died in Dublin 100 years ago, not just the leaders of the Rebellion,” said Mr Nesbitt.

‘Too young to die’

“Sandy McClelland was just 19 years old, far too young to die, as were so many of those who were killed in the Rebellion,” he added.

Mr Nesbitt said he looked forward to leading a UUP delegation to Dublin in 10 days’ time “to offer a unionist perspective on the Rebellion, challenging the causes and consequences of what happened”.

“No one needed to die that weekend, just as no one needed to die to get us to where we are today, a place where self-determination saw huge numbers vote for peace following the 1998 [Belfast] agreement,” said Mr Nesbitt.

“The Rebellion was a seismic event, which reverberates today. It cannot be ignored. I am grateful to the organisers of today’s commemoration who have ensured young lives, lost too early and without reason, are not forgotten,” he added.