New faces dominating the top positions on Northern Ireland's councils for the coming year

The past week has seen history being made in parts of Northern Ireland over recent days with the selection of 11 new mayors and council chairs across our local authorities.

Sinn Fein councillors will wear the mayoral chain of office in three local councils during 2024/25 while the Alliance Party also have three chairs while for the DUP and SDLP it's two each and one for the UUP. The Local Government (Northern Ireland) Act states that councils’ annual general meetings must take place in June.

Three openly gay councillors are taking up mayoral roles this year alongside some of the youngest in history and the first black person to be elected to public office in Northern Ireland. Three of the top posts are also held by women.

READ MORE: Belfast's new mayor on dedication to making city more inclusive and caring

READ MORE: Lilian Seenoi-Barr becomes Northern Ireland’s first black mayor

Alliance councillor Micky Murray has made history as Belfast's first openly gay Mayor. Cllr Murray represents the Balmoral area of the city and has served as a councillor since May 2022. He is the eighth Alliance councillor to assume the Lord Mayor role, and has pledged to make the city more inclusive and caring during his year in office.

The 32-year-old takes over his term as Mayor from Sinn Féin councillor Ryan Murphy. DUP Councillor Andrew McCormick has also become the new Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast. Representing the Ormiston electoral area, he takes over from outgoing Deputy Lord Mayor, Green Party Councillor Áine Groogan.

Elsewhere, Lilian Seenoi-Barr is the first black mayor of a council in Northern Ireland. The 42-year-old, originally from Kenya, was selected by her party the SDLP and confirmed as the first citizen of Derry City and Strabane District Council on Monday evening.

Ms Seenoi-Barr, who made history last year when she became the first black person to be elected to public office in Northern Ireland, described herself as a Maasai woman and a Derry girl. Ulster Unionist Party councillor Darren Guy was nominated as deputy mayor.

The new Mayor of the Causeway Coast and Glens council is the youngest in the Borough's history. Sinn Fein Councillor Ciarán McQuillan, 22, has taken up the role and takes over from DUP councillor Steven Callaghan. The Deputy Mayor for the year ahead is DUP Councillor Tanya Stirling.

An Alliance councillor has also made history as the youngest mayor to take up office in Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council. Kurtis Dickson, 27, was elected to serve the Downshire East area on the council last year, now the software developer said that it will be an "incredible honour" to represent the whole council area for the next year. Councillor Ryan Carlin (Sinn Fein) is taking up the post of Deputy Mayor.

The SDLP has chosen councillor Pete Byrne to be the next Chairperson of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council. He will make history as the first LGBT+ chair of the council. Cllr Byrne has also recently been announced as the party's candidate for Newry and Armagh in the upcoming UK General Election. Councillor David Lee-Surginor (Alliance) was elected as Deputy Chairperson

Sinn Féin councillor, Sarah Duffy, has been elected Lord Mayor and UUP Councillor Kyle Savage as Deputy Lord Mayor in Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council. Councillor Duffy was elected in 2023 to the Armagh DEA becoming the youngest female – at 32 – representative to take on the role of Lord Mayor.

DUP Councillor Alistair Cathcart is the new Mayor in Ards and North Down Borough Council with UUP Councillor David Chambers as Deputy Mayor. The two elected representatives are replacing DUP Councillor Jennifer Gilmour and Alliance Councillor Hannah Irwin who were elected to the roles of Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively last year.

Councillor Neil Kelly from the Alliance Party has been selected as the new Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council with Councillor Paul Dunlop from the DUP nominated as Deputy Mayor for the incoming year.

Councillor Kelly, a registered nurse, represents the Antrim District Electoral Area, where he has served as a Councillor for 14 years, will serve as Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey until June 2025. He will be joined by the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Paul Dunlop, who also represents the Antrim District Electoral Area and has served as a Councillor since 2018.

Cllr Eugene McConnell (SF) is the new Chair in Mid Ulster District Council with Cllr Wesley Brown (DUP) named as Deputy Chair. Cllr McConnell was first elected to the Council in 2023 in the Clogher Valley District Electoral Area. Cllr Brown has represented the Magherafelt area since 2019.

In Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Councillor John McClaughry from the Ulster Unionist Party was nominated as Council Chair for 2024-25. Councillor Elaine Brough of Sinn Féin was nominated as Vice Chair for the incoming year. Cllr McClaughry is following in the footsteps of his father who was one of the longest serving Chairs on the legacy Fermanagh District Council.

Finally, Alderman Beth Adger has been appointed as the new Mayor of Mid and East Antrim while Councillor Bréanainn Lyness has been confirmed as the Borough’s Deputy Mayor. Braid and DUP representative Alderman Adger takes over the chain of office from Alliance party councillor Alderman Gerardine Mulvenna, while Cllr Lyness, a Sinn Féin representative for Ballymena, replaces Alderman Stewart McDonald as Deputy Mayor.

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