Strabane still jobless blackspot 40 years since George Cunningham flagged problems
Mr Cunningham, who passed away aged 90 three years ago, blamed Strabane’s local authority for not doing enough for local people in terms of creating jobs and allocating housing fairly.
He made the points in the early 1970s during a protest outside the Town Hall.
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Hide Ad“We’ve got a council in Strabane that doesn’t give work to the people that were born in the town and they don’t give out the housing to the people that was born in this town.
“I’ve been put out several times and had to go to the Minister in Stormont to fight for fair play,” Mr Cunningham told Charles Witherspoon of UTV.
He was joined by fellow protestors who held placards bearing the slogans “We demand Strabane Work for Strabane Men” and “Council choose to ignore own resolution regarding local labour.”
Mr Cunningham’s statements ended up being broadcast around the world because television producers couldn’t understand him or found his delivery amusing.
A clip of the unemployment protest was aired on the ITV TV outtake series It’ll be Alright on the Night.”