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
Logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 2015
Preceded by
Leadership
Chairperson
Pete Byrne, SDLP
Vice Chairperson
Structure
Seats41
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

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Chairperson

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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 2024 Valerie Harte Sinn Féin
2024 present Pete Byrne[4] SDLP

Deputy Chairperson

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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 UUP
2021 2022 Oonagh Magennis Sinn Féin
2022 2023 Aoife Finnegan Sinn Féin
2023 2024 Gareth Sharvin SDLP
2024 present David Lee-Surginor[5] Alliance

Councillors

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For the purpose of elections the council is divided into seven district electoral areas (DEA):[6]

Area Seats
Crotlieve 6
Downpatrick 5
Newry 6
Rowallane 5
Slieve Croob 5
Slieve Gullion 7
The Mournes 7

Party strengths

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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

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Borders of the DEAs within Newry, Mourne and Down
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
Helena Young 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 UUP
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

Councillor Incidents

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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 an outcry, including from DUP MLAs, including Edwin Poots, former DUP Leader.

Bilingualism policy

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Newry, Mourne and Down District Council has a bilingualism 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. The implementation of the policy is underpinned by the principle of progressive realisation.

Population

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The area covered by the Council has a population of 171,533 residents according to the 2011 Northern Ireland census.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Naomi Bailie is new Council Chair", Newry.ie, 31 March 2015
  2. ^ "Chairperson's Office". Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  3. ^ "New Council Chairperson Appointed at 2021 AGM".
  4. ^ "Chairperson's Office - Newry, Mourne and Down District Council". www.newrymournedown.org. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  5. ^ "New Council Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson Appointed at Annual General Meeting". www.newrymournedown.org. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  6. ^ "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]
  7. ^ "NI Census 2011 - Key Statistics Summary Report, September 2014" (PDF). NI Statistics and Research Agency. Retrieved 28 September 2014.