 He was created a life peer on 16 July 1999 as Baron Laird, of Artigarvan in the County of Tyrone.Laird studied at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution.A proponent of Ulster Scots as a language, Lord Laird wanted road signs in Irish, English and Ullans on all roads in Ireland, as "parity of esteem" as signed up for under the Good Friday Agreement.