Exhibition by Apprentice Boys to tackle `ignorance'

The governor of the Apprentice Boys of Derry, Mr Alistair Simpson, said he hoped the opening of an exhibition in Co Wicklow would reduce "ignorance" about his organisation.

Mr Simpson opened the Apprentice Boys exhibition at the Glencree Centre for Reconciliation last night.

Mr Simpson admitted that in the past his organisation had not made enough effort to communicate with people from different religious traditions in Derry.

"The Apprentice Boys were saying anything that goes on in our hall is our affair, nobody else's business, but the only way we could try to lighten the situation in Londonderry was to tell the people about the Apprentice Boys," he said.

Last month, the Apprentice Boys held a week-long festival in Derry to try to challenge challenging the majority of the Catholic population's perceptions of their traditional Relief of Derry celebrations.

Mr Simpson said this had improved the organisation's relations with Catholics in the city. "They may not agree with us but they're certainly more willing to have a better understanding," he said.

Mr Simpson said he hoped to repeat this in the Republic, where he had already found that people were "willing to understand and listen".

The exhibition explains why the organisation was formed.