Richard Reid (Northern Ireland politician)

Richard Reid is a former Northern Irish unionist politician. Background Reid worked as a farmer in Pomeroy, County Tyrone. An evangelical Protestant, he became friendly with Norman Porter, secretary of the National Union of Protestants. In 1950, he arranged a meeting at the town courthouse for Monica Farrell, and through this, became acquainted with Ian Paisley.Ed Moloney and Andrew Pollak, Paisley, p.43 He subsequently joined Paisley's Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, and, although there was no local congregation, he became a church elder.Ed Moloney and Andrew Pollak, Paisley, p.228

In 1975, Reid stood for Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party in Mid Ulster, and was elected to the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention."Mid-Ulster 1973-1982", Northern Ireland Elections He was also elected to Cookstown District Council at the 1977 Northern Ireland local elections."The Local Government Elections 1973-1981: Cookstown", Northern Ireland Elections

From the 1980s on, Reid withdrew from formal politics, but he was active in the Orange Order, where he became known as a leading traditionalist during the Drumcree conflict.Eric P. Kaufmann, The Orange Order: A Contemporary Northern Irish History, p.287

References