Drew Nelson

Drew Nelson (3 August 1956 – 10 October 2016) was a Northern Irish solicitor and politician. He was the Grand Secretary of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland from 2005 to 2016. Biography Nelson grew up on a family farm in the town land of Listullycurran, Dromore, County Down. He went on to study at Wallace High School and then to Queen's University Belfast and attained his Bachelor of Laws in 1981. He set up his own law practice two years after graduation. He joined the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) while studying at Queen's University Belfast in 1977 and rose to the rank of Lieutenant. One such incident that led him to joining the Security Forces was on 7 April 1976, when three members of the Herron family from Dromore were murdered by the IRA in their drapery store. William Herron, who was murdered along with his wife and daughter, was a member of a local Dromore Orange Lodge. The murder of the Herons encouraged Drew down the path of military service and eventually politics. It was one reason, of many, why he was so eager to serve his country and in later years to fight for the innocent victims of terrorism. He left the UDR on entering politics in 1989. He was a former District Master of Lower Iveagh District in County Down and a member of Listullycurran LOL 616, in which he served as Secretary until his death. He was also a member of the Royal Black Institution.