Blair "Paddy" Mayne

This statue of Lt Col Blair "Paddy" Mayne was erected in the town square of his home town Newtownards.  There has been much discussion about him following the BBC series SAS Rogue Heroes, which depicted him as a working class brawler, much to the disgust of his family.  Mayne graduated in law from Queen's University Belfast just before the second world war and after the war he worked as a solicitor and was secretary to The Law Society of Northern Ireland up until his untimely death in 1955 as the result of a road accident.  Of course he is best remembered for his exploits in WW2.