Richard Reid is a former

Ulster unionist The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule movem ...

politician. Reid worked as a farmer in

Pomeroy, County Tyrone Pomeroy is a small village and civil parish in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is in the townland of Cavanakeeran, about from Cookstown, from Dungannon and from Omagh. The 2011 Census recorded a population of 788 people. This article cont ...

. An evangelical Protestant, he became friendly with

Norman Porter Norman Porter was a loyalist politician in Northern Ireland. A lay preacher, an Orangeman, an Apprentice Boy and a member of the Royal Black Institution,Paul Bew,Good Friday man?, '' Times Online'' Porter became the leader of the National Un ...

, secretary of the

National Union of Protestants The National Union of Protestants was a campaign group of evangelical Protestants in the United Kingdom. Foundation and early activities The group was founded in or shortly before 1944, when it placed an advert in ''The Times'' setting out its prin ...

. In 1950, he arranged a meeting at the town courthouse for Monica Farrell, and through this, became acquainted with

Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a Northern Irish loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and Firs ...

. He subsequently joined Paisley's

Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster :''Distinct from Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland and Free Church of Scotland (post 1900)'' The Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster ( ga, Eaglais Phreispitéireach Saor Uladh) is a Calvinist denomination founded by Ian Paisley in 1951. Doct ...

, and, although there was no local congregation, he became a church elder. In 1975, Reid stood for Paisley's

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by ...

in Mid Ulster, and was elected to the

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

. He was also elected to

Cookstown District Council Cookstown District Council ( ga, Comhairle Cheantar na Coirre Críochaí; Ulster Scots: ''Districk Cooncil o Cookestoun'') was a district council covering an area largely in County Tyrone and partly in County Londonderry. It merged with Dungann ...

at the

1977 Northern Ireland local elections Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland in May 1977. The elections saw good performances by the four largest parties: the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), Alliance Party of Northern Ir ...

. From the 1980s on, Reid withdrew from formal politics, but he was active in the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots people, Ulster Sco ...

, where he became known as a leading traditionalist during the

Drumcree conflict The Drumcree conflict or Drumcree standoff is a dispute over yearly parades in the town of Portadown, Northern Ireland. The town is mainly Protestant and hosts numerous Protestant/loyalist marches each summer, but has a significant Catholic m ...

.Eric P. Kaufmann, ''The Orange Order: A Contemporary Northern Irish History'', p.287

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Richard Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Members of Cookstown District Council Democratic Unionist Party politicians Members of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention Farmers from Northern Ireland People from County Tyrone