Preceded by Pat Convery Name Niall Donnghaile Succeeded by Gavin Robinson Alma mater University of Ulster Party Sinn Fein | Political party Sinn Fein Education Ulster University Nationality Irish Role Political figure | |
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Constituency Pottinger, Belfast East | ||
Niall donnghaile opening address to seanad
Niall Ó Donnghaile [ˈnʲiəl̪ˠ oː ˈd̪ˠɔn̪ˠɣalʲə] (born 28 May 1985) is a Sinn Féin politician and member of the Senate of Ireland, Seanad Éireann. He was the 56th Lord Mayor of Belfast and was elected to Seanad Éireann's Administrative Panel in 2016.
Contents
- Niall donnghaile opening address to seanad
- Senator niall donnghaile raises loughinisland massacre in seanad
- Lord Mayor of Belfast
- References
He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Ó Donnghaile is a Sinn Féin councillor for the Pottinger ward in Belfast East. He was educated through Irish, which he speaks fluently, and is a politics graduate. A full-time Sinn Féin councillor, Ó Donnghaile was previously employed as the party's Press Officer in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
A community worker in the Short Strand, the area of East Belfast in which he was born, and is a member of the Short Strand Partnership Board, he also works with various other organisations in Belfast on issues such as the developments at Titanic Quarter and Sirocco Quays, and has spoken strongly in support of residents on the issue of the proposed runway extension at Belfast City Airport.
Senator niall donnghaile raises loughinisland massacre in seanad
Lord Mayor of Belfast
Ó Donnghaile became Lord Mayor of Belfast in June 2011. Aged 25 at the time, he was the city's youngest ever Lord Mayor.
Ó Donnghaile said he wanted to represent all the people of Belfast. Ruth Patterson, of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), became Deputy Lord Mayor. Controversially, she refused to talk to him or shake his hand. Her party backed her in this decision.
After taking office, he removed portraits of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Prince Charles from the Mayor's parlour, replacing them with a portrait of the United Irishmen and a copy of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. He kept portraits of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on display. He said he did this to make the parlour "more reflective of Belfast". However, Unionist councillors demanded that the two royal portraits be put back.
In December 2011 he refused to present an award to a Belfast girl who was a member of the British Army cadets. Ó Donnghaile explained: "At the last minute I was informed that one of the awards was to be presented to a representative of the Army Cadet Force [...] to avoid any unnecessary sensitivities to either party, it was arranged for the outgoing chairman of the organisation to present some of the certificates alongside me".