Statue honouring former slave Frederick Douglass - dubbed 'the black Daniel O'Connell' - to go ahead in Belfast at a cost of £150,000

By Adam Kula

Published 26th Apr 2023, 12:30 BST

Updated 26th Apr 2023, 12:39 BST

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A statue of a 19th century anti-slavery campaigner – once dubbed "the black Daniel O'Connell” – is going ahead at a cost of £150,000 to the Northern Irish public purse.

Belfast City Council confirmed the sum after councillors gave their approval for the tribute to Frederick Douglass in Belfast’s Lombard Street, a largely-pedestrian side-street, off the busy High Street.

The life-sized bronze statue is set to be 8ft tall, including the plinth, and will stand roughly opposite Caffe Nero, between the Monico Bars pub and Rosemary Street Non-Subscribing Presbyterian church.

It emerged today that the council’s planning committee had okayed the move on April 18.

The rough location of the new statue of Frederick Douglass (inset); the image shows Lombard Street in Belfast, with Royal Avenue the next street over on the left, and High Street running beneath it (the yellow-clad scaffolding of the burnt-out Primark building can be seen on the far left of the image)

The rough location of the new statue of Frederick Douglass (inset); the image shows Lombard Street in Belfast, with Royal Avenue the next street over on the left, and High Street running beneath it (the yellow-clad scaffolding of the burnt-out Primark building can be seen on the far left of the image)

The council’s PR department told the News Letter: “The statue will cost an estimated £150,000, and is being funded by the council and the Department for Communities.

"The installation date is still to be confirmed, but it is anticipated that it will be in place by the summer.”

Mr Douglass was a former slave who became a leader of the abolitionist movement in America (slavery was not outlawed until the 1860s in America; the British empire had been outlawing it step-by-step from the 1830s).

Mr Douglass first visited Belfast in 1845 at the invitation of the Belfast Anti-Slavery Society, and returned for a second visit in 1846.

During his time in the city he gave 11 talks about slavery, including at the Rosemary Street church, a stone's-throw from where his statue will be.

According to the website FrederickDouglassInBritain.com, Daniel O'Connell, the Irish Catholic rights advocate, dubbed Mr Douglass "the black O'Connell".

The website adds: "Douglass found that, unlike parts of America, few areas were closed to him in Ireland – he dined with upper class gentlemen intrigued to hear his story, and travelled across the country without restriction. He even dined with the Lord Mayor of Dublin…

"Some Irishmen, however, were not impressed with Douglass’ celebrity – on several occasions in Belfast, graffiti covered the advertisements of his speeches, demanding he be sent back to America."

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