A memorial to the Royal Irish Constabulary has been unveiled in Newtownards, Co Down. The polished marble monument stands next to the local war memorial, which honours those killed in the two world wars and other conflicts. It recognises the service of the force that operated from 1867 to 1922.

The unveiling took place on Sunday. It follows a cancelled RIC commemoration in Dublin in 2020 amid controversy over recognition of the Black and Tans and Auxiliaries. Ernest McCall, a former Royal Ulster Constabulary officer, helped lead the Newtownards effort through the local RUC George Cross Association branch.

Co Down deputy lord lieutenant Amanda Blackmore attended. She stated that history in Northern Ireland shapes the present and requires careful remembrance with respect for all traditions. Blackmore added that the memorial recognises human stories and lives lost across communities.

Democratic Unionist Party MP Jim Shannon called the memorial long overdue. He linked it to last weekend's gathering at the same war memorial to mark the killing of four Ulster Defence Regiment soldiers in an IRA car bomb at Ballydugan outside Downpatrick in April 1990.

Attendees discussed a dissident republican attempt to attack a PSNI station in Dunmurry outside Belfast on Saturday. The device involved six cylinders of fertiliser-based explosives.

Retired garda Jim Herlihy, a police historian, also attended and assisted planning. He noted the Newtownards monument makes no specific reference to the RIC Auxiliary Division.