Newry, Mourne and Down District Council
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (Irish: Comhairle Ceantair an Iúir, Mhúrn agus an Dúin) is a local authority in Northern Ireland that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaces Down District Council and Newry and Mourne District Council and covers most of the southeast of Northern Ireland. The first elections to the authority were on 22 May 2014. At the 2019 Northern Ireland local elections, Sinn Féin became the largest party with 16 seats. This success was continued at the 2023 Northern Ireland local elections, winning 20 seats.
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Comhairle Ceantair an Iúir, Mhúrn agus an Dúin | |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 2015 |
| Preceded by | Down District Council Newry and Mourne District Council |
| Leadership | |
Chairperson | Valerie Harte, Sinn Féin |
Vice Chairperson | Gareth Sharvin, SDLP |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 41 |
Political groups | Executive (28) Sinn Féin (20) SDLP (8) Opposition DUP (5) Alliance (5) Independents (2) UUP (1) |
| Elections | |
Last election | 18 May 2023 |
| Meeting place | |
| Downshire Civic Centre, Downpatrick and O'Hagan House, Newry | |
| Website | |
| http://www.newrymournedown.org/ | |
Chairpersonship edit
Chairperson edit
| From | To | Name | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2016 | Naomi Bailie[1] | Sinn Féin | |
| 2016 | 2017 | Gillian Fitzpatrick | SDLP | |
| 2017 | 2018 | Róisín Mulgrew | Sinn Féin | |
| 2018 | 2019 | Mark Murnin | SDLP | |
| 2019 | 2020 | Charlie Casey[2] | Sinn Féin | |
| 2020 | 2021 | Laura Devlin | SDLP | |
| 2021 | 2022 | Cathy Mason[3] | Sinn Féin | |
| 2022 | 2023 | Michael Savage | SDLP | |
| 2023 | present | Valerie Harte | Sinn Féin |
Deputy Chairperson edit
| From | To | Name | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2016 | Gillian Fitzpatrick | SDLP | |
| 2016 | 2017 | Garth Craig | DUP | |
| 2017 | 2018 | William Clarke | Sinn Féin | |
| 2018 | 2019 | Oksana McMahon | Sinn Féin | |
| 2019 | 2020 | Terry Andrews | SDLP | |
| 2020 | 2021 | Harold McKee | Ulster Unionist | |
| 2021 | 2022 | Oonagh Magennis | Sinn Féin | |
| 2022 | 2023 | Aoife Finnegan | Sinn Féin | |
| 2023 | present | Gareth Sharvin | SDLP |
Councillors edit
For the purpose of elections the council is divided into seven district electoral areas (DEA):[4]
| Area | Seats |
|---|---|
| Crotlieve | 6 |
| Downpatrick | 5 |
| Newry | 6 |
| Rowallane | 5 |
| Slieve Croob | 5 |
| Slieve Gullion | 7 |
| The Mournes | 7 |
Party strengths edit
| Party | Elected 2014 | Elected 2019 | Elected 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sinn Féin | 14 | 16 | 20 | |
| SDLP | 14 | 11 | 8 | |
| DUP | 4 | 3 | 5 | |
| Alliance | 2 | 2 | 5 | |
| UUP | 3 | 4 | 1 | |
| UKIP | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Independents | 3 | 5 | 2 | |
Councillors by electoral area edit
| Council members from 2023 election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| District electoral area | Name | Party | |
| Crotlieve | Selina Murphy | Sinn Féin | |
| Declan McAteer | SDLP | ||
| Mark Gibbons | Independent | ||
| Kate Murphy | Sinn Féin | ||
| Mickey Ruane | Sinn Féin | ||
| Jarlath Tinnelly | Independent | ||
| Downpatrick | Oonagh Hanlon | Sinn Féin | |
| Gareth Sharvin | SDLP | ||
| Cadogan Enright | Alliance | ||
| Philip Campbell | Sinn Féin | ||
| Conor Galbraith | SDLP | ||
| Newry | Valerie Harte | Sinn Féin | |
| Cathal King | Sinn Féin | ||
| Geraldine Kearns | Sinn Féin | ||
| Aidan Mathers | Sinn Féin | ||
| Killian Feehan † | SDLP | ||
| Doire Finn | SDLP | ||
| Rowallane | Jonny Jackson | DUP | |
| Terry Andrews | SDLP | ||
| Callum Bowsie | DUP | ||
| Tierna Kelly | Alliance | ||
| David Lee-Surginor | Alliance | ||
| Slieve Croob | Alan Lewis | DUP | |
| Jim Brennan | Sinn Féin | ||
| Róisín Howell | Sinn Féin | ||
| Andrew McMurray | Alliance | ||
| Siobhan O'Hare | Sinn Féin | ||
| Slieve Gullion | Aoife Finnegan | Sinn Féin | |
| Mickey Larkin | Sinn Féin | ||
| Declan Murphy | Sinn Féin | ||
| Pete Byrne | SDLP | ||
| Mickey Larkin | Sinn Féin | ||
| Oonagh Magennis | Sinn Féin | ||
| David Taylor | Ulster Unionist | ||
| The Mournes | Glyn Hanna | DUP | |
| Michael Rice | Sinn Féin | ||
| Willie Clarke | Sinn Féin | ||
| Leeanne McEvoy | Sinn Féin | ||
| Laura Devlin | SDLP | ||
| Henry Reilly | DUP | ||
| Jill Truesdale | Alliance | ||
† Co-opted to replace an elected councillor
For further details see 2023 Newry, Mourne and Down District Council election.
Councillor Incidents edit
The Mournes DEA DUP Councillor Glyn Hanna is currently the focus of media over the William Walker pervert case.
William Walker, former Chairperson of Down District Council in 2014/2015, and DUP councillor for Rowallane, was in court in June 2023 over the charges. He admitted to sexual offences with underage girls, and Councillor Hanna provided a "positive" character reference for Walker. This has caused major outcry, including from DUP MLAs, including Edwin Poots, former DUP Leader.
Bilingualism policy edit
The former Newry & Mourne District Council, uniquely among local authorities in Northern Ireland, has a bilingual policy which sets out the Council’s commitment to facilitate and encourage the promotion and use of both the Irish language and the English language in the Council area. In order to ensure that the new administrative division does not constitute an obstacle to the promotion of the Irish language, Newry, Mourne and Down District Council was obliged under the terms of Article 7.1 (b) of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, to progressively implement the bilingual policy throughout the whole of the newly enlarged district.[5]
Population edit
The area covered by the new Council has a population of 171,533 residents according to the 2011 Northern Ireland census.[6]
References edit
- ^ "Naomi Bailie is new Council Chair", Newry.ie, 31 March 2015
- ^ "Chairperson's Office". Retrieved 27 June 2019.
- ^ "New Council Chairperson Appointed at 2021 AGM".
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)[dead link] - ^ "The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is the European convention for the protection and promotion of languages used by traditional minorities". European Charter for Regional
or Minority Languages. - ^ "NI Census 2011 - Key Statistics Summary Report, September 2014" (PDF). NI Statistics and Research Agency. Retrieved 28 September 2014.