Obituary: Kenneth Bloomfield, central figure in Northern Ireland's civil service who survived IRA attack
Born in Belfast on April 15, 1931, to English parents, he received his secondary education at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution in the city centre. He went on to study modern history at St Peter's College, Oxford, and joined the civil service in 1952.
He was appointed in 1956 as private secretary to then finance minister at Stormont, Captain Terence O'Neill, who later served as the North's prime minister from 1963 to 1969 and famously hosted a visit by then taoiseach Seán Lemass to Belfast in February 1965.
Following the outbreak of the Troubles in the late 1960s, elections to a Northern Ireland Assembly were held on June 28, 1973, and talks on power-sharing subsequently took place at Sunningdale in Berkshire, between parties from the North.
Under the Sunningdale Agreement of November 21, 1973, a power-sharing executive based on voluntary coalition was established, as well as a cross-border Council of Ireland involving the Irish Government.
Bloomfield said he accepted Sinn Féin's presence in government notwithstanding the attack on his life
With Bloomfield as its permanent secretary, the cross-party administration had its first meeting on New Year's Day 1974. The Ulster Unionist Party leader at the time, Brian Faulkner, was chief executive, with his Social Democratic and Labour Party counterpart Gerry Fitt as deputy chief executive and Fitt's party colleague John Hume as commerce minister, with Alliance leader Oliver Napier as legal minister and head of the office of law reform.
However, there was deep unhappiness within the UUP over the agreement, particularly the cross-border body, and this led to Faulkner's resignation as party leader. He continued as power-sharing chief executive, but the Sunningdale Agreement collapsed because of the Ulster Workers' Council strike in May 1974, which lasted 14 days, with loyalist paramilitaries playing a prominent role.
Bloomfield later served as permanent secretary at the Department of the Environment and the Department of Economic Development. On December 1, 1984, he became head of the Northern Ireland civil service and was the most senior adviser on a variety of issues to successive British secretaries of state.
In 1987, he became Sir Kenneth Bloomfield after being appointed as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB).
On September 12, 1988, he was subjected, along with his wife and one of their children, to an IRA bomb attack at their family home in Crawfordsburn, Co Down, but none of them was physically injured.
Almost 19 years later, on August 23, 2007, at the Merriman Summer School in Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare, when a power-sharing administration in the North was headed by the Reverend Ian Paisley of the DUP and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness, Bloomfield said he accepted Sinn Féin's presence in government notwithstanding the attack on his life.
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As I grow older, I care less and less which flag is flown and which anthem is played where I live
'I do not find the idea of some form of Irish unity or closer association — almost certainly after my time — in any way unthinkable in principle. But what is conceivably acceptable in principle would have to be mutually acceptable in practice,' he said.
Offering a 'very personal perspective', he added: 'As I grow older, I care less and less which flag is flown and which anthem is played where I live.'
He retired from the civil service in April 1991 and subsequently became a member of the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains.
Bloomfield also received honorary doctorates from Queen's University Belfast, the Open University and the University of Ulster. He was appointed to the chair of the Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission and his alma mater, the Royal Belfast Academical Institution.
n December 1997 he was invited by then secretary of state Mo Mowlam to become the Northern Ireland Victims Commissioner for a fixed term, which resulted in a report on issues concerning victims of the Troubles entitled We Will Remember Them, which was published in April 1998.
He was the BBC's National Governor for Northern Ireland from 1991 to 1999.
Kenneth Bloomfield died on May 30. He is survived by his wife Elizabeth, whom he married in September 1960 and their two children, Caroline and Tanya, formerly called Timothy, who is transgender and has spoken warmly of the support she received from her parents in that regard.
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Irish Independent
5 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Obituary: Kenneth Bloomfield, central figure in Northern Ireland's civil service who survived IRA attack
Born in Belfast on April 15, 1931, to English parents, he received his secondary education at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution in the city centre. He went on to study modern history at St Peter's College, Oxford, and joined the civil service in 1952. He was appointed in 1956 as private secretary to then finance minister at Stormont, Captain Terence O'Neill, who later served as the North's prime minister from 1963 to 1969 and famously hosted a visit by then taoiseach Seán Lemass to Belfast in February 1965. Following the outbreak of the Troubles in the late 1960s, elections to a Northern Ireland Assembly were held on June 28, 1973, and talks on power-sharing subsequently took place at Sunningdale in Berkshire, between parties from the North. Under the Sunningdale Agreement of November 21, 1973, a power-sharing executive based on voluntary coalition was established, as well as a cross-border Council of Ireland involving the Irish Government. Bloomfield said he accepted Sinn Féin's presence in government notwithstanding the attack on his life With Bloomfield as its permanent secretary, the cross-party administration had its first meeting on New Year's Day 1974. The Ulster Unionist Party leader at the time, Brian Faulkner, was chief executive, with his Social Democratic and Labour Party counterpart Gerry Fitt as deputy chief executive and Fitt's party colleague John Hume as commerce minister, with Alliance leader Oliver Napier as legal minister and head of the office of law reform. However, there was deep unhappiness within the UUP over the agreement, particularly the cross-border body, and this led to Faulkner's resignation as party leader. He continued as power-sharing chief executive, but the Sunningdale Agreement collapsed because of the Ulster Workers' Council strike in May 1974, which lasted 14 days, with loyalist paramilitaries playing a prominent role. Bloomfield later served as permanent secretary at the Department of the Environment and the Department of Economic Development. On December 1, 1984, he became head of the Northern Ireland civil service and was the most senior adviser on a variety of issues to successive British secretaries of state. In 1987, he became Sir Kenneth Bloomfield after being appointed as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB). On September 12, 1988, he was subjected, along with his wife and one of their children, to an IRA bomb attack at their family home in Crawfordsburn, Co Down, but none of them was physically injured. Almost 19 years later, on August 23, 2007, at the Merriman Summer School in Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare, when a power-sharing administration in the North was headed by the Reverend Ian Paisley of the DUP and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness, Bloomfield said he accepted Sinn Féin's presence in government notwithstanding the attack on his life. ADVERTISEMENT As I grow older, I care less and less which flag is flown and which anthem is played where I live 'I do not find the idea of some form of Irish unity or closer association — almost certainly after my time — in any way unthinkable in principle. But what is conceivably acceptable in principle would have to be mutually acceptable in practice,' he said. Offering a 'very personal perspective', he added: 'As I grow older, I care less and less which flag is flown and which anthem is played where I live.' He retired from the civil service in April 1991 and subsequently became a member of the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains. Bloomfield also received honorary doctorates from Queen's University Belfast, the Open University and the University of Ulster. He was appointed to the chair of the Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission and his alma mater, the Royal Belfast Academical Institution. n December 1997 he was invited by then secretary of state Mo Mowlam to become the Northern Ireland Victims Commissioner for a fixed term, which resulted in a report on issues concerning victims of the Troubles entitled We Will Remember Them, which was published in April 1998. He was the BBC's National Governor for Northern Ireland from 1991 to 1999. Kenneth Bloomfield died on May 30. He is survived by his wife Elizabeth, whom he married in September 1960 and their two children, Caroline and Tanya, formerly called Timothy, who is transgender and has spoken warmly of the support she received from her parents in that regard.
Irish Daily Mirror
7 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
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The UK already operates a Global Talent Visa that allows researchers and academics to move without a job offer, provided they are endorsed by an approved body. Ilieva believes something similar could help Ireland attract top global talent. Amanda Klekowski von Koppenfels, a US-born migration expert and academic coach who studied at Georgetown and Harvard, says Ireland isn't widely known in the US as an academic haven – yet. In her role as a coach to people in career transition or who wish to move out of the US, she sees 'huge interest in Ireland'. She added: 'It's English speaking. It's part of the EU. A number of people are actively trying to apply for jobs and in order to get an employer-sponsored visa. 'What I'm finding, though, is that not everybody has a really strong knowledge of what even visas are, what the European Union is. 'It's not something they've ever had to think about before.' Klekowski von Koppenfels has worked with everyone from climate scientists to psychotherapists and journalists considering a move to Ireland. Often, they're professionals seeking a less stressful life. She said: 'Ireland is progressive, and since we have so many Irish in the United States, it's a bit of a known quantity.' In terms of people considering Ireland, it is in the 'dozens ' or 'possibly in the hundreds|', and from areas such as the east coast to Ohio. She estimates 1% to 2% of Americans – potentially 3 to 6 million people – are seriously considering leaving the US. 'Certainly, people are applying for Irish passports and getting those recognised. It's something I do hear quite a lot of.'
Irish Independent
9 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Review of bail laws will consider introducing tougher new rules for offenders
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