Hugh Casey (politician)

Hugh Casey MBE (24 May 1927 – 10 March 2013[1]) was a politician in Northern Ireland.

Casey worked as a community project manager in Lurgan[2] before being elected to Craigavon Borough Council as a Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) councillor in 1989.[3] In 1994, he left the SDLP, after accepting an MBE, claiming that some in the party had ostracised him for accepting a British honour.[4] He stood in Upper Bann as a Labour coalition candidate for the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996, heading a list which took only 512 votes.[5]

Although no Labour coalition members were directly elected, as the tenth most successful party in the election, they were entitled to two seats in the Forum. These were allocated to Casey and Malachi Curran.[6] In the same year, he became the first Catholic Mayor of Craigavon.[7]

The Coalition soon disintegrated. Casey stood as an independent Labour candidate in the 1997 local elections, but lost his seat in Craigavon.[8] He did not stand for the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998, but did canvass for the Labour Party of Northern Ireland.[9]

When the composition of the Northern Ireland Policing Board was first revealed in 1998, Casey was named as a member.[10] From 2003, he sat on the County Armagh District Policing Partnership, and received death threats believed to be from dissident republicans.[11] He later served as a member of Craigavon District Policing Partnership.[9]

References
  1. Published on 17/03/2013 12:00 (17 March 2013). "Deaths in the community – Deaths in the Community". Lurgan Mail. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  2. Archived 15 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Local Government Elections 1985–1989: Craigavon". Ark.ac.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  4. "SDLP man accepts gong… « Slugger O'Toole". Sluggerotoole.com. 4 January 2006. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  5. "1996 Candidates – Upper Bann". Ark.ac.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  6. Dr Nicholas Whyte. "The 1996 Forum Elections". Ark.ac.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  7. Published on 15/03/2013 13:00 (15 March 2013). "Hugh Casey made history as first Catholic mayor of Craigavon – Local". Lurgan Mail. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  8. Dr Nicholas Whyte. "Craigavon Borough Council, 1993 – 2011". Ark.ac.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  9. "District Policing Partnerships | District Policing Partnerships". Districtpolicing.com. 19 August 2010. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  10. "Northern Ireland Office". Archive.official-documents.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  11. "UK | Northern Ireland | DPP member defies threats". BBC News. 11 March 2004. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
Civic offices
Preceded by
Meta Crozier		 Mayor of Craigavon
1996		 Succeeded by
Sam Lutton
Northern Ireland Forum
New forum Regional Member
1996–1998		 Forum dissolved
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