Call for statue in memory of Portrush gay rights activist Mark Ashton

There are calls for a statue to be built in Portrush to the gay rights activist Mark Ashton.

Mark moved to the seaside resort at a young age and went to the catering college in the town.

After completing his studies, he moved to London where he became an influential figure in the the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners movement during the Miners' strike.

As a co-founder of the group, Mark forged an unusual friendship with Welsh Miners, supporting them supporting them during the strikes in the 1980s.

Sadly, Mark died through AIDS only a few years after the strikes in 1987 at the age of just 26.

However, his legacy lives on with the work of Mark and other activists leading to the film, Pride, being made in 2014, starring the likes of Bill Nighy and Imelda Staunton.

In the same year, a plaque was dedicated to Mark in London, with a garden in memory of him also being built in Paris.

Now, an online petition is calling for a public memorial in his Co Antrim home of Portrush so that his legacy can live on in Northern Ireland.

So far, it has achieved over 2,000 signatures from supporters.

Local MLA, Caoimhe Archibald has backed the petition and has written to Causeway Coast and Glens Council asking them to support the campaign.

The East Derry MLA said: “Mark Ashton is well known for his campaigning for equality as one of the founders of the Lesbians and Gays support the miners campaign. “We all have a duty to continue to make society more inclusive and I believe this statue will increase LGBTQ+ visibility across the borough which will help promote the area and support tourism.

Fellow MLA for East Londonderry, Claire Sugden has also backed the calls.

“I wholeheartedly support the campaign to erect a memorial for Mark Ashton, in whatever form that takes,” Ms Sugden said.

Sian James' husband was a miner - she remembers Mark fondly from his days campaigning during the miners' strike.

"You'd find it very difficult to get anyone as charismatic and as magnetic as Mark," she told UTV.

"I know it sounds like a load of clichés but he stood out in any room. People gravitated towards him," she added.

"His personality was bouncy bouncy, energy, energy, energy! Nothing was impossible.

For Sian, a statue in the place Mark grew up would be a fitting tribute:

"Yes he didn't launch a thousand ships. Yes he didn't make millions of pounds. But in his way, in his lifetime, he achieved so much," Sian added.

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