Basil McIvor
Encyclopedia
William Basil McIvor OBE PC (NI) (17 June 1928-5 November 2004) was an Ulster Unionist
politician, barrister and pioneer of integrated education
.
, County Fermanagh
part of the village of Pettigo
, which straddles the Northern Ireland
border. McIvor attended the Methodist College, Belfast and the Queen's University of Belfast
and was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland
in 1950. In his career at the Bar, Basil McIvor became Junior Crown Counsel and a Resident Magistrate in the 1970s.
as Ulster Unionist Party
MP for Larkfield
in the 1969 election. He was one of a group of MPs who supported the beleaguered Prime Minister
, Terence O'Neill
. Viewed as a liberal he was given the job of Minister of Community Relations by Brian Faulkner
in 1971 and resigned from the Orange Order
.
McIvor was a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973, topping the poll in Belfast South
, and a member of the Ulster Unionist contingent who negotiated the Sunningdale Agreement
in 1973. When the powersharing Executive was set up in the aftermath of Sunningdale McIvor headed the Education Department. McIvor left politics after the fall of the Executive in 1974 and sat as a resident magistrate.
In 1987 he was subject of a motion tabled in the United Kingdom House of Commons by four UUP MPs who accued him of showing bias against unionists and members of the Orange Order in a county Antrim case and so demanded McIvor's removal from the bench.
William 'Budgie' Allen and that of several people accused of killing two corporals
in Belfast
.
. In 1981 he became the first chairman of Lagan College
, Northern Ireland's first integrated school. When Sinn Féin
's Martin McGuinness
became education minister he invited him to visit the college. He was also a governor of Campbell College, Belfast from 1975 until his death.
Basil McIvor died on the 5 November 2004 aged 76 while playing golf at Royal County Down
.
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...
politician, barrister and pioneer of integrated education
Integrated Education
The Integrated education movement in Northern Ireland is an attempt to bring together children, parents and teachers from both Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions: the aim being to provide a balanced education, while allowing the opportunity to understand and respect all cultural and religious...
.
Early life and education
The son of Rev. Frederick McIvor, a Methodist clergyman, McIvor was born in the TullyhommonTullyhommon
Tullyhommon is a small village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It lies within the Fermanagh District Council area. In the 2001 Census the village had a population of 81 people....
, County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh
Fermanagh District Council is the only one of the 26 district councils in Northern Ireland that contains all of the county it is named after. The district council also contains a small section of County Tyrone in the Dromore and Kilskeery road areas....
part of the village of Pettigo
Pettigo
Pettigo is a small village on the border of County Donegal, Republic of Ireland and County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is bisected by the Termon River which is part of the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland...
, which straddles the Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
border. McIvor attended the Methodist College, Belfast and the Queen's University of Belfast
Queen's University of Belfast
Queen's University Belfast is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The university's official title, per its charter, is the Queen's University of Belfast. It is often referred to simply as Queen's, or by the abbreviation QUB...
and was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland
Bar of Northern Ireland
The Bar of Northern Ireland, or Northern Irish Bar, is the association of barristers for Northern Ireland, comprising as at September 2007 just under 600 members....
in 1950. In his career at the Bar, Basil McIvor became Junior Crown Counsel and a Resident Magistrate in the 1970s.
Political career
He was elected to the Northern Ireland ParliamentParliament of Northern Ireland
The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...
as Ulster Unionist Party
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...
MP for Larkfield
Antrim Larkfield (constituency)
Larkfield was a single-member county constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.-Boundaries and boundary changes:Before 1969, the area formed part of the Northern Ireland Parliament constituencies of Mid-Down and South Antrim....
in the 1969 election. He was one of a group of MPs who supported the beleaguered Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland was the de facto head of the Government of Northern Ireland. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920. However the Lord Lieutenant, as with Governors-General in other Westminster Systems such as in Canada, chose to appoint someone...
, Terence O'Neill
Terence O'Neill
Terence Marne O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of the Maine, PC was the fourth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party...
. Viewed as a liberal he was given the job of Minister of Community Relations by Brian Faulkner
Brian Faulkner
Arthur Brian Deane Faulkner, Baron Faulkner of Downpatrick, PC was the sixth and last Prime Minister of Northern Ireland from March 1971 until his resignation in March 1972...
in 1971 and resigned from the Orange Order
Orange Institution
The Orange Institution is a Protestant fraternal organisation based mainly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, though it has lodges throughout the Commonwealth and United States. The Institution was founded in 1796 near the village of Loughgall in County Armagh, Ireland...
.
McIvor was a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973, topping the poll in Belfast South
Belfast South (Assembly constituency)
Belfast South is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...
, and a member of the Ulster Unionist contingent who negotiated the Sunningdale Agreement
Sunningdale Agreement
The Sunningdale Agreement was an attempt to establish a power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive and a cross-border Council of Ireland. The Agreement was signed at the Civil Service College in Sunningdale Park located in Sunningdale, Berkshire, on 9 December 1973.Unionist opposition, violence and...
in 1973. When the powersharing Executive was set up in the aftermath of Sunningdale McIvor headed the Education Department. McIvor left politics after the fall of the Executive in 1974 and sat as a resident magistrate.
In 1987 he was subject of a motion tabled in the United Kingdom House of Commons by four UUP MPs who accued him of showing bias against unionists and members of the Orange Order in a county Antrim case and so demanded McIvor's removal from the bench.
Investigations
McIvor presided over the initial investigation into UVF supergrassSupergrass (informer)
Supergrass is a slang term for an informer, which originated in London. Informers had been referred to as "grasses" since the late-1930s, and the "super" prefix was coined by journalists in the early 1970s to describe those informers from the city's underworld who testified against former...
William 'Budgie' Allen and that of several people accused of killing two corporals
Corporals killings
The corporals killings was the killing of corporals David Robert Howes and Derek Tony Wood, two British Army soldiers of the Royal Corps of Signals killed on 19 March 1988 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The non-uniformed soldiers were killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army , after they...
in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
.
Campaigning
He was involved in campaigning for shared schools for Protestant and Catholic pupils in Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. In 1981 he became the first chairman of Lagan College
Lagan College
Lagan College is an integrated secondary school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was formed in 1981 as the first integrated school in Northern Ireland and contains students of mainly Roman Catholic and Protestant faiths, however students from other faiths also attend the school.The school is...
, Northern Ireland's first integrated school. When Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
's Martin McGuinness
Martin McGuinness
James Martin Pacelli McGuinness is an Irish Sinn Féin politician and the current deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. McGuinness was also the Sinn Féin candidate for the Irish presidential election, 2011. He was born in Derry, Northern Ireland....
became education minister he invited him to visit the college. He was also a governor of Campbell College, Belfast from 1975 until his death.
Basil McIvor died on the 5 November 2004 aged 76 while playing golf at Royal County Down
Royal County Down Golf Club
Royal County Down Golf Club is a golf club in Newcastle, County Down, Northern Ireland. Dating from 1889, it is one of the oldest golf clubs in Ireland...
.
Books
- Basil McIvor, Hope Deferred: Experiences of an Irish Unionist, Blackstaff Press, BelfastBelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, 1998. (autobiography)