EDM 117: 80th anniversary of Comber Apprentice Boys

That this House celebrates 80 years of the Comber Branch of the Apprentice Boys of Derry; notes that the first Apprentice Boys Club was formed on 1 August 1714 by Colonel John Mitchelburne who had been governor of the city towards the end of the siege; highlights that although the club ceased to exist after his death, the memory of the siege was always celebrated each year in some form by informal groups though the 18th century; further notes the first formal Apprentice Boys of Derry Club was formed in 1814 by Benjamin J Darcus and over the next four decades and that other clubs were founded to commemorate the siege and its heroes; and further highlights Comber as one of these groups in Strangford, Northern Ireland commemorating the siege and wishes them all the very best for the future.