Women Members of Local Councils in Northern Ireland

WOMEN MEMBERS OF LOCAL COUNCILS IN NORTHERN IRELAND

Table 1 on this page lists all women city, borough, and district councillors elected in the June 2001 local elections. Unlike the rest of the United Kingdom Northern Ireland uses the single-transferable vote for local elections. A record number of women were successful at this election, and a gender breakdown of each of the twenty-six local councils is provided in Table 2. The women mayors or equivalent for the year 2003-2004 are marked on this table with *, and deputy mayors or equivalent are marked with †. Eventually the Observatory intends to add information on women in local government in Ireland and Great Britain.

Table 1: Women councillors in Northern Ireland, 2001

Name / Party / District Electoral Area
Campbell, Betty / Alliance / Lisburn Downshire
Cleland, Linda / Alliance / Ards East
Crampsey, Janet / Alliance / Carrickfergus Kilroot
Duncan, Sara / Alliance / Castlereagh West
Frazer, Lynn / Alliance / Newtownabbey University
Long, Naomi / Alliance / Belfast Victoria
McIlwrath, Noreen / Alliance / Carrickfergus Knockagh Monument
Mulvenna, Geraldine / Alliance / Larne Coast Road
O'Brien, Susan / Alliance / North Down Holywood
Rice, Geraldine / Alliance / Castlereagh South
Wilson, Anne / Alliance / North Down Bangor West
Adger, Beth / DUP / Ballymena South
Beattie, May* / DUP / Carrickfergus Knockagh Monument
Black, (Margaret) Heather / DUP / Armagh Cusher
Bunting, Joanne / DUP / Castlereagh Central
Cooling, (Ivy) Ruby / DUP / North Down Abbey
Craig, Margaret / DUP / Ards West
Donnelly, Freda / DUP / Armagh City
Ennis, Clare / DUP / Castlereagh East
Fielding, (Ellen) Phyllis / DUP / Coleraine East
Garfield, Mildred / DUP / Derry Waterside
Hunter, Pamela / DUP / Newtownabbey Ballyclare
McCrea, Anne / DUP / Cookstown Ballinderry
McKinney, Patricia / DUP / Carrickfergus Carrick Castle
McMillan, Elaine / DUP / Belfast Court
Morton, Kim / DUP / Castlereagh East
Patterson, Ruth / DUP / Belfast Balmoral
Rea, Rachel / DUP / Larne Coast Road
Robinson, Iris / DUP / Castlereagh East
Stevenson, Vivienne / DUP / Castlereagh West
Alexander, Christine / Independent / Coleraine Skerries
Wallace, Patricia / NIWC / North Down Ballyholme & Groomsport
Baker, Mary / SDLP / Cookstown Ballinderry
Bell, Ann / SDLP / Strabane Mourne
Name / Party / District Electoral Area
Black, Madeline / SDLP / Moyle Ballycastle
Blaney, Christine / SDLP / Moyle the Glens
Bradley, Mary / SDLP / Derry Shantallow
Brolly, Anna / SDLP / Armagh City
Courtney, Annie / SDLP / Derry Rural
Deehan, Josephine / SDLP / Omagh Town
Gribben, Margaret / SDLP / Ballymena Braid
Hannah, Carmel / SDLP / Belfast Balmoral
Hughes, Rosaleen / SDLP / Castlereagh West
Kelly, Dolores / SDLP / Craigavon Loughside
Lagan, (Kathleen) Kate* / SDLP / Magherafelt Sperrin
Lewsley, Patricia / SDLP / Lisburn Dunmurry Cross
Mallon, Patricia / SDLP / Craigavon Central
McAleenan, Anne / SDLP / Down Ballynahinch
McAlinden, Mary / SDLP / Craigavon Loughside
McCambridge, Catherine* / SDLP / Moyle the Glens
McClelland, Noreen / SDLP / Newtownabbey Antrim Line
McCloskey, Kathleen / SDLP / Derry Northland
McDaid, Marie / SDLP / Derry Waterside
McDermott, (Catherine) Cassie* / SDLP / Banbridge Dromore
McNally, Mary / SDLP / Craigavon Lurgan
McNamee, Bernadette / SDLP / Strabane Derg
Molloy, Catherine / SDLP / Belfast Balmoral
O'Boyle, Carmel / SDLP / Down Newcastle
O'Hare, Josephine / SDLP / Newry & Mourne Crotlieve
Quigley, Helen / SDLP / Derry Northland
Ritchie, Margaret / SDLP / Down Rowallene
Trainor, Ann / SDLP / Down Downpatrick
Walsh, Margaret / SDLP / Belfast Lower Falls
Brolly, Anne / Sinn Féin / Limavady Benbradagh
Cush, Marie / Sinn Féin / Belfast Lower Falls
Digney, Monica / Sinn Féin / Moyle the Glens
Donaghy, Marion / Sinn Féin / Limavady Benbradagh
Fleming, Lynn / Sinn Féin / Derry Waterside
Lynch, Ruth / Sinn Féin / Fermanagh Erne East
Martin, Elena† / Sinn Féin / Newry & Mourne Slieve Gullion
McAuley, Chrissie Marie / Sinn Féin / Belfast Upper Falls
McClenaghan, Margaret / Sinn Féin / Belfast Oldpark
McGill, Claire / Sinn Féin / Strabane Glenelly
McLaughlin, Maeve / Sinn Féin / Derry Northland
Meehan, Briege / Sinn Féin / Newtownabbey Antrim Line
Moore, Marie / Sinn Féin / Belfast Lower Falls
Nelis, Mary / Sinn Féin / Derry Northland
O’Rawe, Pat* / Sinn Féin / Armagh Crossmore
Rafferty, Cathy / Sinn Féin / Armagh City
Ramsay, Sue / Sinn Féin / Lisburn Dunmurry Cross
Name / Party / District Electoral Area
Willis, Veronica / Sinn Féin / Lisburn Dunmurry Cross
Kinghan, Valerie / UKUP / North Down Abbey
Armitage, Pauline / UUP / Coleraine Skerries
Baird, Kathleen Joan / UUP / Banbridge Town
Beare, Norah / UUP / Banbridge Dromore
Black, Elizabeth Toye / UUP / Coleraine East
Church, Olive Mary / UUP / Coleraine Bann
Clarke, Margaret / UUP / Belfast Pottinger
Corry, Evelyn / UUP / Armagh Crossmore
Cree, Irene / UUP / North Down Abbey
Crilly, Janet / UUP / Newtownabbey Antrim Line
Crooks, Margaret† / UUP / Belfast Balmoral
Crozier, Meta Elizabeth / UUP / Craigavon Lurgan
Drummond, Joan / UUP / Larne Coast Road
Dunlop, Roberta / UUP / North Down Abbey
Gilliland, Barbara / UUP / Newtownabbey University
Hamilton, Mary / UUP / Derry Waterside
Harding, Helen / UUP / Moyle Ballycastle
Johnston, Elizabeth Ann / UUP / Coleraine Central
Martin, Lorraine / UUP / Lisburn Town North
McBurney, Barbara / UUP / Castlereagh South
McKay, Ellie / UUP / North Down Holywood
McRoberts, Sylvia / UUP / Armagh City
McWilliam, Vera / UUP / Newtownabbey Ballyclare
Peacocke, Diana / UUP / North Down Holywood
Scott, Vi / UUP / Newtownabbey University
Smith, Marion / UUP / North Down Bangor West
Walker, Dineen Eileen / UUP / Newtownabbey Macedon
Wilson, Gwen / UUP / Carrickfergus Knockagh Monument

Table 2: Local councils in Northern Ireland by gender, 2001

(Updated August 2003)

Council / Women / Men / % Women
Antrim / 0 / 19 / 0
Ards / 2 / 21 / 9
Armagh / 7 / 15 / 32
Ballymena / 2 / 22 / 8
Ballymoney / 0 / 16 / 0
Banbridge / 3 / 14 / 18
Belfast / 12 / 39 / 24
Carrickfergus / 5 / 12 / 29
Castlereagh / 9 / 14 / 39
Coleraine / 6 / 16 / 27
Cookstown / 2 / 14 / 13
Craigavon / 5 / 21 / 19
Derry / 10 / 20 / 33
Down / 4 / 19 / 17
Dungannon / 0 / 22 / 0
Fermanagh / 1 / 22 / 4
Larne / 3 / 12 / 20
Limavady / 2 / 13 / 13
Magherafelt / 1 / 15 / 6
Lisburn / 5 / 25 / 17
Moyle / 5 / 10 / 30
Newry & Mourne / 2 / 28 / 7
Newtownabbey / 9 / 16 / 4
North Down / 10 / 15 / 40
Omagh / 1 / 20 / 5
Strabane / 3 / 13 / 19
Total / 108 / 474 / 19

Table 3: Northern Ireland local election results by gender and party, 2001

Party / Women / Men / % Women
UUP / 27 / 127 / 18
DUP / 19 / 112 / 15
SDLP / 31 / 86 / 26
Sinn Féin / 17 / 91 / 16
Alliance / 11 / 17 / 40
Other / 3 / 41 / 7
Total / 108 / 474 / 19

N.B. Pat O’Rawe (SF) was elected to Armagh City Council for Crossmore in a 2003 bye-election, increasing the overall number of women to 109.

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