Máirtín Ó Muilleoir

Máirtín Ó Muilleoir (born 1 January 1959[1]) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician, author, publisher and businessman, who served as the 58th Lord Mayor of Belfast (2013–14).[2] Ó Muilleoir has two siblings, one of which is writer, blogger and Huffington Post columnist Adrian Millar,[3] whilst the other is journalist and editor Gerry Millar/Gearóid Ó Muilleoir of The Belfast Telegraph.

Máirtín Ó Muilleoir
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Belfast South
In office 4 November 2014 – 7 January 2020
Preceded by	Alex Maskey
Succeeded by	Deirdre Hargey
Minister for Finance
In office 12 May 2016 – 7 January 2017
Preceded by	Mervyn Storey
Succeeded by	Conor Murphy
58th Lord Mayor of Belfast
In office 2 June 2013 – 2 June 2014
Preceded by	Gavin Robinson
Succeeded by	Nichola Mallon
Councillor on Belfast City Council
In office 2011 – 7 January 2020
Constituency	Balmoral
Personal details
Born	1 January 1959 Belfast, Northern Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Political party	Sinn Féin
Spouse(s)	Helen O'Hare
Children	4
Alma mater	Queen's University Belfast
Profession	Publisher, businessman

Early life and education

Ó Muilleoir was educated at St Mary's Christian Brothers (a Roman Catholic grammar school) and at Queen's University Belfast.[4]

Career

Business career

In 1997, Ó Muilleoir became part-owner of the Andersonstown News, which subsequently purchased the New York-based Irish Echo.[4] A fluent Irish speaker,[2] he has interests in other Irish and American businesses.[4] He served as a temporary director of Northern Ireland Water.[5]

Political career

Ó Muilleoir entered politics in 1985, when he stood as a Sinn Féin candidate for the Upper Falls area and narrowly missed out on being elected.[6]

When Pip Glendinning of the Alliance Party resigned her seat two years later due to the birth of the Glendinning's daughter, Ó Muilleoir won the resulting by-election in October 1987. During his time on the council, he initiated a number of legal actions over what he claimed was discrimination by the Unionist-dominated council,[4] detailing these experiences in his book, The Dome of Delight.[2]

He was re-elected at the 1989 and 1993 local elections, retiring at the 1997 local elections to concentrate on his business interests.[2] In 1996 he was an unsuccessful candidate in the Northern Ireland Forum election in North Down.[7]

He re-entered politics in 2011, when he was elected as a Belfast City Councillor for Balmoral, South Belfast, gaining the seat previously held by Jim Kirkpatrick of the Democratic Unionist Party, and was elected Lord Mayor in 2013, serving a one-year term.[8]

In 2014, he was co-opted as an MLA into the Northern Ireland Assembly.[9] He stood in Belfast South in the 2015 United Kingdom general election, losing to the Social Democratic and Labour Party incumbent, Alasdair McDonnell.[10] On 12 May 2016, he was appointed Minister of Finance in the Northern Ireland Executive.[11]

References

1. Profile, niassembly.gov.uk; accessed 10 February 2016.
2. "Máirtín Ó Muilleoir is Belfast's new Lord Mayor". The News Letter. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
3. Adrian Millar/Máirtín Ó Muilleoir relation, thewildgeese.irish; accessed 5 June 2015.
4. "Máirtín Ó Muilleoir – a republican for change". The Belfast Telegraph. 8 June 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
5. "Mairtin O'Muilleoir to represent SF in south Belfast". BBC.co.uk. 6 December 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
6. Belfast city council election results 1985–1989, ARK, accessed 21 June 2013
7. 1996 Forum Elections: Candidates in North Down, ark.ac.uk; accessed 5 March 2017.
8. Balmoral election results, 1993–2011, ARK.ac.uk; accessed 21 June 2013.
9. Profile, belfasttelegraph.co.uk; accessed 17 May 2015.
10. Belfast South result, BBC News, accessed 6 July 2016
11. Ó Muilleoir is new North finance minister, The Irish Echo, 25 May 2016, accessed 22 January 2017

External links

• Profile, companieshouse.gov.uk; accessed 9 December 2016.
• Profile, heraldscotland.com; accessed 25 February 2017.