Ronnie Turner reports on reaction to the news that Captain Terence O'Neill is to step down as leader of the Unionist Party.
A new premier of Northern Ireland will be elected at a meeting of the Unionist party on Thursday. O'Neill has also announced that, as soon as a new leader is elected, he will resign the premiership as well after six years in this role. He claims to have made his decision at the weekend. He also stated that he is not leaving politics but will be a back-bencher.
Ronnie Turner reports from Belfast. Nominations for the position can be lodged with the Chief Whip until Thursday. At the meeting, the nominees will be declared and a secret ballot will be taken. The contender with the majority of votes will be the new premier.
The two contenders for the position at the moment are Mr. Brian Faulkner and Major Chichester-Clark. Faulkner is expected to attract the support of dissidents from within the party while Chichester-Clark is expected to get the votes of O'Neill supporters.
| Title: | Captain O'Neill Resigns |
| Clip Duration: | 00:02:04 |
| Material Type: | Audio |
| Clip Title: | Reaction to O’Neill Resignation |
| Series Title: | RTÉ News |
| Information: | A RTÉ News report featuring Mike Burns and Jim Sherwin in studio, and Ronnie Turner in Belfast. This report was broadcast on 29 April 1969. The accompanying image shows Captain Terence O'Neill leaving Stormont on 1 May, 1969. |
| Local Keywords: | Northern Ireland 1969, New Prime Minister, Captain Terence O'Neill, Ronnie Turner, Unionist Party, Brian Faulkner, Major Chichester-Clark |
| Coverage: | Ireland, Belfast |
| Genre: | News |
| Topic: | Wars and Conflict |
| Provider: | RTÉ |
| Contributor(s): | Ronnie Turner (Reporter) |
| Publisher: | RTÉ |
| First Broadcast Channel: | RTÉ |
| Production Year: | 1969 |
| Country of Production: | Ireland |
| Original Identifier: | QNX002196 |
| IPR Restrictions: | Rights Reserved - Free Access |
| Rights, Terms and Conditions: | Copyright RTÉ. This material may not be replicated in any form or manner without the prior express permission of RTÉ. Any form of reproduction in print, television, video, multimedia, web site or other electronic media or any form of dissemination for commercial or non-commercial use must be licensed by the RTÉ Archives. If you wish to licence video or audio clips, still images or text, or would like further guidance please contact us. RTÉ Archives are committed to respecting the copyright of others and have attempted to source and credit the copyright owners of all material used here. RTÉ would like to hear from any copyright owners who are not properly identified here so that the necessary corrections can be made. If you feel your copyright has not been respected please contact us. |
| Item Type: | part/extract |
| Sound: | Mono |
| Language: | English (eng) |
