# 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.

## Chairpersonship
### Chairperson

| From | To | Name | Party |
| 2015 | 2016 | Naomi Bailie | Sinn Féin |
| 2016 | 2017 | Gillian Fitzpatrick | SDLP |
| 2017 | 2018 | Róisín Mulgrew | Sinn Féin |
| 2018 | 2019 | Mark Murnin | SDLP |
| 2019 | 2020 | Charlie Casey | Sinn Féin |
| 2020 | 2021 | Laura Devlin | SDLP |
| 2021 | 2022 | Cathy Mason | Sinn Féin |
| 2022 | 2023 | Michael Savage | SDLP |
| 2023 | 2024 | Valerie Harte | Sinn Féin |
| 2024 | present | Pete Byrne | SDLP |

### Deputy Chairperson

| 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 | Alliance |

## Councillors

For the purpose of elections the council is divided into seven district electoral areas (DEA):
| Area | Seats |
| Crotlieve | 6 |
| Downpatrick | 5 |
| Newry | 6 |
| Rowallane | 5 |
| Slieve Croob | 5 |
| Slieve Gullion | 7 |
| The Mournes | 7 |

### Party strengths

| 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

Council members from 2023 election :
| District electoral area | Name | Party |
| Crotlieve | Selina Murphy | Sinn Féin |
| Crotlieve | Declan McAteer | SDLP |
| Crotlieve | Mark Gibbons | Independent |
| Crotlieve | Kate Murphy | Sinn Féin |
| Crotlieve | Mickey Ruane | Sinn Féin |
| Crotlieve | Jarlath Tinnelly | Independent |
| Downpatrick | Oonagh Hanlon | Sinn Féin |
| Downpatrick | Gareth Sharvin | SDLP |
| Downpatrick | Cadogan Enright | Alliance |
| Downpatrick | Philip Campbell | Sinn Féin |
| Downpatrick | Conor Galbraith | SDLP |
| Newry | Valerie Harte | Sinn Féin |
| Newry | Cathal King | Sinn Féin |
| Newry | Geraldine Kearns | Sinn Féin |
| Newry | Aidan Mathers | Sinn Féin |
| Newry | Killian Feehan † | SDLP |
| Newry | Doire Finn | SDLP |
| Rowallane | Jonny Jackson | DUP |
| Rowallane | Terry Andrews | SDLP |
| Rowallane | Callum Bowsie | DUP |
| Rowallane | Tierna Kelly | Alliance |
| Rowallane | David Lee-Surginor | Alliance |
| Slieve Croob | Alan Lewis | DUP |
| Slieve Croob | Jim Brennan | Sinn Féin |
| Slieve Croob | Róisín Howell | Sinn Féin |
| Slieve Croob | Helena Young † | Alliance |
| Slieve Croob | Siobhan O'Hare | Sinn Féin |
| Slieve Gullion | Martin Hearty † | Sinn Féin |
| Slieve Gullion | Mickey Larkin | Sinn Féin |
| Slieve Gullion | Declan Murphy | Sinn Féin |
| Slieve Gullion | Pete Byrne | SDLP |
| Slieve Gullion | Mickey Larkin | Sinn Féin |
| Slieve Gullion | Oonagh Magennis | Sinn Féin |
| Slieve Gullion | David Taylor | UUP |
| The Mournes | Glyn Hanna | DUP |
| The Mournes | Michael Rice | Sinn Féin |
| The Mournes | Willie Clarke | Sinn Féin |
| The Mournes | Leeanne McEvoy | Sinn Féin |
| The Mournes | Laura Devlin | SDLP |
| The Mournes | Henry Reilly | DUP |
| The Mournes | Jill Truesdale | Alliance |
† Co-opted to replace an elected councillor

### 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.

## Population

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