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.
Chairpersonship
Chairperson FromTo Name Party20152016Naomi Bailie"Naomi Bailie is new Council Chair ", Newry.ie, 31 March 2015 20162017Gillian Fitzpatrick 20172018Róisín Mulgrew 20182019Mark Murnin 20192020Charlie Casey 20202021Laura Devlin 20212022Cathy Mason 20222023Michael Savage 20232024Valerie Harte 20242025Pete Byrne 20252026Philip Campbell 2026 PresentGlyn Hanna
Deputy Chairperson FromTo Name Party20152016Gillian Fitzpatrick 20162017Garth Craig 20172018William Clarke 20182019Oksana McMahon 20192020Terry Andrews 20202021Harold McKee 20212022Oonagh Magennis 20222023Aoife Finnegan 20232024 Gareth Sharvin 20242025 David Lee-Surginor 20252026 Geraldine Kearns 2026Present Doire Finn
Councillors For the purpose of elections the council is divided into seven district electoral areas (DEA):
AreaSeatsCrotlieve6Downpatrick5Newry6Rowallane5Slieve Croob5Slieve Gullion7The Mournes7
Party strengths PartyElected 2014Elected 2019Elected 2023CurrentSinn Féin14162020SDLP141188DUP4355Alliance2254UUP3411UKIP1000Independents3523
Councillors by electoral area
† Co-opted to replace an elected councillor ‡ Elected as Alliance
Councillor Incidents 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 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.
Premises
The council has two main administrative buildings, both inherited from its predecessor authorities. The Downshire Civic Centre comprises part of the Downshire Hospital complex at Downpatrick, which had been converted and extended to become the headquarters of Down District Council in 2012. O'Hagan House on Monaghan Row in Newry was formerly the headquarters of Newry and Mourne District Council. Full council meetings are generally held at Downshire Civic Centre, whilst some committee meetings are held at O'Hagan House.
Population The area covered by the Council has a population of 171,533 residents according to the 2011 Northern Ireland census.
References