Blair Mayne Statue

Who knew this great man was right beneath our noses this whole time? Not me, well until recently. While shopping on a busy Friday in Ards with my mum I waited outside another one of those women’s clothes shops I was being dragged into all afternoon. It was after she had been away for around ten minutes I decided to go have a closer look at the life size Iron statue that stood proudly in Conway Square. Underneath it said Blair «Paddy» Mayne and I thought that name sounds familiar.
So like any former student I did my research and it turns out Mayne was a Newtownards and Northern Irish legend. He fought in the Second World War, He won an Irish Boxing Title and he could drink too.
The statue is in Conway Square to commemorate all these achievements, except drinking, and a noble mans life. Mayne tragically died in a car collision in December 1955 and the whole country came to a standstill. The people of Newtownards erected this statue in honour of a great man who defended the county at war and on the battlefield.
If you want to be inspired I suggest you pay his statue a visit and read up on his life.

Next time you are in Conway Square taking a break from the hectic Saturday market, or chomping on a doner kebab in the early hours of a Sunday morning, take a minute to consider local and highly decorated war hero Lieutenant Robert Blair Mayne who’s statue has stood proudly in Ards town centre since 1996.
Most commonly known by his nickname «Paddy» he has been hailed as a hero of the rugby pitch and battlefield alike. With caps for Ireland, the British Lions and most famously recognized as a founding member of the SAS there is clearly good cause for a statue in his memory. It is said that many men owe their lives to his heroics behind enemy lines in WW2 and, by all accounts, his gallant actions would not have been too far out of place in an Indiana Jones movie!
With locals still campaigning for a posthumous award of the coveted «Victoria Cross», and lingering rumours of a film documenting Paddy’s life, there is every reason to acquaint yourselves with this legendary statue in Conway Square!