David Allen MBE (24 October 1937 – 13 December 2011) was a Northern Irish teacher, trade unionist and politician.

Background

A member of the

Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party The Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party (VUPP), informally known as Ulster Vanguard, was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1972 and 1978. Led by William Craig, the party emerged from a split in the Ulster Un ...

, he represented the group in the

Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention (NICC) was an elected body set up in 1975 by the United Kingdom Labour Party (UK), Labour government of Harold Wilson as an attempt to deal with constitutional issues surrounding the status of N ...

.W. D. Flackes & Sydney Elliott, ''Northern Ireland A Political Directory 1968-1993'', Blackstaff Press, 1994, p. 147 He was elected to

Ballymena Borough Council Ballymena Borough Council was the local authority of Ballymena (borough), Ballymena in Northern Ireland. It merged with Carrickfergus Borough Council and Larne Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Irelan ...

in 1973, topping the poll in the C District Electoral Area. He retained the seat in 1977, albeit as a "Ratepayers" candidate, having left the Vanguard in the interim. In November 1976 Allen proposed a motion banning Ballymena's local

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

(GAA) from using council facilities; the motion passed unanimously. Allen described the GAA as "bigoted, sectarian" with an "antiquated" ruleset. In a television interview about the motion, Allen suggested he would be justified in calling for the GAA to be outlawed and made illegal in Northern Ireland. Allen was a pupil of

Ballymena Academy Ballymena Academy is a mixed gender, voluntary Grammar schools in the United Kingdom, grammar school in the market town of Ballymena in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1828 as a small provincial school for children in the tow ...

.Mr. David Allen - formerly of Ballykeel Primary
/ref> A teacher by profession, he trained at

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

and

Stranmillis College Stranmillis University College is a university college of Queen's University Belfast. The institution is located on the Stranmillis Road in Belfast. It had students in . The school offers the BEd, PGCE and TESOL, as well as other courses. ...

before teaching at primary level in his native

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 31,205 people at the 2021 United Kingdom census, making it the List of localities in Northern Ireland by population, seven ...

, initially at Harryville PS before moving to Ballykeel PS.Belfast Telegraph obituary
/ref> Known to his pupils as "Duck", he was deputy headmaster at the latter school. Allen was active in the

Ulster Teachers' Union The Ulster Teachers' Union is a trade union based in Northern Ireland, whose membership comprises nursery, primary, and secondary school teachers and school leaders working in the state sector. It has 6,429 members. The UTU has close links with t ...

and became general secretary of the body in 1978, holding the position for twenty years. A prominent media figure during his time in charge, Allen's work earned him the nickname "children's champion". Allen was married twice and had one daughter. Following his retirement he settled in

Banbridge Banbridge ( ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the Bann in 1712. It is in the civil parish of Seapatrick and the historic barony of Iveagh Upper ...

, while also keeping a house in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. He suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in 2011 and died soon after, aged 74. He was buried in Banbridge following a service at the town's Bannside Presbyterian Church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, David 1937 births 2011 deaths Members of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party politicians General secretaries of British trade unions Presbyterians from Northern Ireland People from Ballymena Members of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Alumni of Stranmillis University College People educated at Ballymena Academy Schoolteachers from Northern Ireland Labour Co-operative police and crime commissioners