Newry, Mourne and Down District Council
| 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 |
Gillian Fitzpatrick, SDLP |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 41 |
 | |
Political groups |
Sinn Féin (14) SDLP (14) DUP (4) UUP (3) Alliance (2) Independents (4) |
| Elections | |
Last election | 22 May 2014 |
| Meeting place | |
| Downshire Civic Centre, Downpatrick and O'Hagan House, Newry | |
| Website | |
| http://www.newrymournedown.org/ | |
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council 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.
Chairpersonship
Chairperson
| From | To | Name | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2016 | Naomi Bailie | Sinn Féin | |
| 2016 | 2017 | Gillian Fitzpatrick | SDLP |
Vice Chairperson
| From | To | Name | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2016 | Gillian Fitzpatrick | SDLP | |
| 2016 | 2017 | Garth Craig | DUP |
Councillors
For the purpose of elections the council is divided into seven district electoral areas (DEA):[1]
| Area | Seats |
|---|---|
| Crotlieve | 6 |
| Downpatrick | 5 |
| Newry | 6 |
| Rowallane | 5 |
| Slieve Croob | 5 |
| Slieve Gullion | 7 |
| The Mournes | 7 |
Party strengths
| Party | Elected | Current | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sinn Féin | 14 | 14 | |
| SDLP | 14 | 14 | |
| DUP | 4 | 4 | |
| UUP | 3 | 3 | |
| Alliance | 2 | 2 | |
| UKIP | 1 | 0 | |
| Independents | 3 | 4 | |
Last updated 28 December 2017.
Councillors by electoral area
| Council members from 2014 election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| District electoral area | Name | Party | |
| Crotlieve | Declan McAteer | SDLP | |
| Michael Carr | SDLP | ||
| Oksana McMahon † | Sinn Féin | ||
| Mickey Ruane | Sinn Féin | ||
| Gillian Fitzpatrick | SDLP | ||
| Jarlath John Tinnelly | Independent | ||
| Downpatrick | John Trainor † | SDLP | |
| Dermot Curran | SDLP | ||
| Gareth Sharvin | SDLP | ||
| Cadogan Enright | Independent | ||
| Naomi Bailie | Sinn Féin | ||
| Newry | Charlie Casey | Sinn Féin | |
| Liz Kimmins | Sinn Féin | ||
| Valerie Harte | Sinn Féin | ||
| Davy Hyland | Independent | ||
| Gary Stokes | SDLP | ||
| Michael Savage ‡†‡ | SDLP | ||
| Rowallane | Terry Razor Andrews | SDLP | |
| Robert Burgess | UUP | ||
| Harry Harvey | DUP | ||
| Billy Walker | DUP | ||
| Patrick Brown | Alliance | ||
| Slieve Croob | Stephen Burns | Sinn Féin | |
| Garth Craig | DUP | ||
| Mark Murnin | SDLP | ||
| Pól Ó Gribín | Sinn Féin | ||
| Andrew McMurray † | Alliance | ||
| Slieve Gullion | Terry Hearty | Sinn Féin | |
| Pete Byrne † | SDLP | ||
| Mickey Larkin | Sinn Féin | ||
| Barra O Muirí | Sinn Féin | ||
| David Taylor | UUP | ||
| Róisín Mulgrew | Sinn Féin | ||
| Kate Loughran | SDLP | ||
| The Mournes | Henry Reilly ‡ | Independent | |
| Laura Devlin | SDLP | ||
| Willie Clarke | Sinn Féin | ||
| Seán Doran | Sinn Féin | ||
| Harold McKee | UUP | ||
| Brian Quinn | SDLP | ||
| Glyn Hanna | DUP | ||
†: Co-opted to fill a vacancy since the election. ‡: New party affiliation since the election. Last updated 28 December 2017. For further details see Newry, Mourne and Down District Council election, 2014.
Chairpersons of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council
Bilingualism Policy of the Council
The former Newry & Mourne District Council, unique among local authorities in Northern Ireland had a bilingual policy, which set out the Council’s commitment to facilitate and encourage the promotion and use of both the Gaelic (Irish) language and the English language in the Council area. In order to ensure that the new administrative division did not constitute an obstacle to the promotion of the Irish Gaelic 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 implementat the bilingual policy throughout the whole of the newly enlarged district.[3]
Population
The area covered by the new Council has a population of 171,533 residents according to the 2011 Northern Ireland census.[4]
References
- ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
- ↑ "Naomi Bailie is new Council Chair", Newry.ie, 31 March 2015
- ↑ "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.