Newtownards Ulster Unionist Councillor, Richard Smart, has defended the decision of Ards & North Down Borough Council to name a new £30 million leisure facility after Colonel Blair Mayne.
Councillor Smart said:
“I can scarcely comprehend how anyone should have any issue with Newtownards naming its new leisure complex after its most famous son, Blair Mayne.
“Blair Mayne was a war hero and an Irish rugby international who also played for the British Lions. He was a founder member of the SAS. He fought in North Africa, Italy and Germany and his exploits in World War Two in helping defeat fascism are the stuff of legend.
“Any town in the United Kingdom would be proud to call him one of their own, and it is an honour for the people of Newtownards that we can do so.”