SDLP Councillor John Coyle has vowed to dress up in “a green suit” when he and other Councillors attend a St. Patrick’s Day Festival in Nottingham next month paid for by ratepayers.
Fermanagh and Omagh District Council have been invited to attend the event as part of an initiative each year in which the city hosts a different county from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Councillor Coyle will be joined by Sinn Fein’s Thomas O’Reilly, Ulster Unionist Chris Smyth and the Council’s Tourism Officer Eddie McGovern. Tanya Cathcart of Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism, which will cover the marketing manager’s costs, will also attend the event. The Democratic Unionist Party has refused to attend.
“They pick out a county at random every year. Last year it was Donegal, this year Fermanagh was chosen. We will go so we can promote Fermanagh to the people of Nottingham and bring back ideas,” explained Councillor Coyle.
He intends to dress up for the occasion. 
“The details have to be finalised, but I would like to take part,” he said. “I do a lot of dressing up for different events I carry out. We have a Halloween dress party in our local community centre and I dress up. 
“At Christmas I always have my Christmas jumper on at the last planning meeting of the Council, I always wear it. I might invest in a green suit or a St. Patrick’s Day suit,” he told The Impartial Reporter.
At Tuesday night’s meeting of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, the Director of Regeneration and Planning Alison McCullagh said the trip, which will include a three night stay, would cost approximately £500 per person, depending on the cost of flights.
Ulster Unionist Councillor Alex Baird said the delegation should “for want of a better phrase, be cross community.”
Sinn Fein’s Thomas O’Reilly told the Council that attending the event would provide him and other local councillors with the opportunity to promote tourism, adding that there is “substantial room” to improve tourism figures in Fermanagh.
“None of our representatives will be attending,” said Democratic Unionist Errol Thompson.
Independent Councillor Bernice Swift requested a “detailed” and “sober” report from the councillors attending the event and afterwards said: “I look forward to feedback and can only hope they don’t make a holy show of us when away.”
Democratic Unionist Councillor Keith Elliott outlined his party’s position, telling this newspaper: “We will not be attending the St. Patrick’s Day trip to England as we do not feel it is an appropriate use of ratepayers’ money. We will celebrate the contribution of St. Patrick through Council funded events in our own county.” 
According to the website of Nottingham’s St. Patrick’s Day Festival, Eileen Dowling from Derrygonnelly and Siobhan Begley from Ederney have been appointed joint chief marshals of the parade. “We greet and welcome everyone who comes here today to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day but especially the many who come to represent County Fermanagh. It’s your day,” the website states.