all politics cover.indd 1 24/02/2015 14:03 all politics cover.indd 2 24/02/2015 14:03 Réamhrá an Mhéara Mayor’s Foreword

Téann an leabhrán seo le taispeántas a chíorann na This booklet accompanies an exhibition which príomhchéimeanna forbartha a d’imir tionchar ar fhás examines the major phases of local government an rialtais áitiúil ar an Iúr, in Ard Mhacha theas agus i development in Newry, south Armagh and ndeisceart an Dúin. south Down.

Pléann an leabhrán seo le bunú Coimisinéirí na It commences with the establishment of the bPóiliní ar an Iúr sa bhliain 1828, teacht Coimisinéirí Newry Police Commissioners in 1828, the Town an Bhaile in 1865, tabhairt isteach na gComhairlí, Commissioners in 1865, the introduction of Urban tuathcheantair is ceantair uirbeacha, sna 1890í, and Rural District Councils in the 1890s, the setting up Comhairle an Iúir agus Mhúrn sa bhliain 1973 agus of Newry and Mourne District Council in 1973 to the Athstruchtúrú an Rialtais Áitiúil in 2015. reorganisation of local government in 2015.

Scríobh lear mór daoine, idir fheidhmeannaigh is A range of people who worked as officials, or served as Chomhairleoirí, ailt don leabhrán ina dtugann siad Councillors, have contributed articles to the booklet, tuairimí pearsanta ar an bhorradh a tháinig ar rialtas providing a personal insight and perspective on the áitiúil ó lár an 19ú haois go dtí an lá atá inniu ann. development of local government. These articles cover a period from the mid - 19th century until the Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a thabhairt d’achan present day. duine a raibh baint acu leis an taispeántas, foireann na hIarsmalainne go mór mór agus na daoine I would like to thank everyone involved in this aonartha a bhronn agus a thug earraí ar iasacht don exhibition, particularly Museum staff and individuals taispeántas chomh maith leo siúd a raibh ceird na who have donated and loaned items to the exhibition, scríbhneoireachta acu. and to those who contributed articles to this booklet.

An Comhairleoir Dáire Hughes Councillor Daire Hughes Méara, Comhairle an Iúir agus Mhúrn Mayor, Newry and Mourne District Council Throughout the lifetime of the Council, housing was Introduction often a contentious issue. After the Second World War As Newry and Mourne District Council comes to an a large number of housing schemes came to fruition, end in March 2015, it is timely to look back at local including Drumalane Park (1951 - 1954), O’Neill government in the area over the last two hundred years. Avenue (1956 - 1957) and Derrybeg (1963 - 1964). The Labour Party on the Council was one of driving forces Newry was one of the first towns in Ireland to behind these schemes. implement a system of local government. In 1828 twenty one Commissioners of Police were The process of major reform of local government established and in 1865 they were replaced by Town started in the mid-1960s. In 1966 a review was Commissioners as a result of the 1865 the Towns’ launched of local Councils in Northern Ireland, which Improvement (Ireland) Act. were described, ‘as too many, too small, and too poor - a motley inheritance from the 19th century’. Ultimately, The Town Commissioners were dissolved in 1898 when this led to the Macrory Report of 1970 that advocated a Local Government Act introduced a new structure a major overhaul with 26 district councils replacing the comprising County Councils, Urban and existing structures. Against the backdrop of reform, the Rural Councils. political situation in Northern Ireland had dramatically deteriorated, and Direct Rule from Westminister In contrast to earlier forms of local government, the was introduced in 1972. In the same year, the Local new Councils had publicly elected representatives Government (NI) Act brought in the system of 26 known as Councillors. Councils. This reform was led by officials, and had little input from local politicians. County Councils were responsible for each County and had responsibility for roads, setting the rates, and Prior to 1973 there were six smaller Councils in this a host of other functions. Urban and Rural Councils area, these were; Newry Urban District Council, Newry were responsible for smaller areas and had a variety of No. 1 District Council (Co. Down side), Newry No. functions including registration of births and deaths 2 District Council (Co. Armagh side), Warrenpoint in the area. Until the introduction of the Health Act of Urban District Council, Kilkeel (South Down) Rural 1946 and the National Health Service of 1948, Rural District Council and Kilkeel Urban District Council. Councils also served as Poor Law Guardians. These were replaced by Newry and Mourne District Council which had its administrative offices at For a short time in the late 1920s Newry Urban District Monaghan Row, Newry. Council was responsible for the provision of electricity. Other diverse responsibilities included the censoring of films in the local cinemas and the management of the local library. Newry Fire Brigade pictured outside Newry Town Hall c.1914 Newry Urban District Council was one of the first authorities to provide a fire service. It was a voluntary brigade formed by young businessmen of the town. Equipment was kept in the Town Hall and when a fire broke out in the town, a bell was rung by the caretaker to alert the fire brigade. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection

Captain Terence O’Neill Prime Minister of Northern Ireland is pictured (left) with W.V. Hogg Chairman of Newry Urban District Council (right) and Jean O’Neill (extreme right) at a luncheon held in their honour in the Detail from map of local councils in County Down c.1930, showing part of Ardmore Hotel, Newry during a visit to the town in May 1967. Newry Urban District Council, Newry No. 1 District Council, Warrenpoint Newry and Mourne Museum Collection Urban District Council, Kilkeel Rural District Council and Kilkeel Urban District Council. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection

Street Sign Newry Urban District Council introduced a number of bilingual street names in the 1950s, including Michael Mallin Park and James Connolly Park. Some streets were also renamed at this time; King Street became Francis Street and Queen Street became Dominic Street. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection Proposals for a planning scheme in Newry in 1946, incorporating housing, roads and open spaces. It mentions a possible location for a swimming pool, laments the lack of a public space in the centre and suggests Castle Street should be widened to accommodate traffic. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection In the early 1870s the next major challenge to face The Police and Town the Town Commissioners was that of the supply of Commissioners in Newry water to the town. Newry had around 200 wells but the water from some of them was not fit for human Dympna Tumilty consumption. The Town Commissioners, along with Bessbrook Spinning Company, began negotiations and In 1828 “An Act for the lighting, watching, and put forward a Bill to promote Camlough as an ideal cleansing of cities, towns corporate, and market towns location for a reservoir. In the House of Lords, two in Ireland” was established. This Act originated in days were spent on the Bill when John James O’Hagan Newry, where it was first implemented, and Newry argued Newry’s case for ten hours. The Bill was passed became a model for municipal administration and became law on 14th August 1871 as the Newry throughout Ireland. Improvement and Water Act.

Twenty one Commissioners of Police were chosen to The introduction of this Act saw many responsibilities implement this Act. The Commissioners employed given to the Commissioners, specifically maintaining eleven officers called the Town Watch and paid their and building public roads, bridges and other public salaries from local taxes. The duties of the Town Watch works, and also, the control of six marketplaces. included patrolling the town, lighting street lamps For the first time the Commissioners were given an every evening and keeping the streets clean and free official seal. from obstruction. They also dealt with minor crimes and disorderly behaviour. One of the last acts undertaken by the Town

th Commissioners was the construction of the Town Hall On 6 February 1865 the Towns’ Improvement which is situated on the Clanrye River, the old county (Ireland) Act was adopted. The Board of Police border. Work was completed in 1893. Commissioners were dissolved and eighteen Town Commissioners were appointed in their place. Newry The Town Commissioners were dissolved in 1898 when was divided into three wards, north, south and west, a new Local Government Act was introduced and local and the first Chairman was John Moore. Councils were established. Over the next number of years, the Town Commissioners turned their attention to improving the poor sanitation in Newry through the construction of sewers and introducing health regulations for public places, shops and workplaces. These measures taken to tackle disease were very successful, with the number of reported cases of fever falling from 238 in 1864 to 48 in 1868. John James O’Hagan Chairman of the Newry Town Commissioners in 1868. At the time of his death in 1895, all boats in Newry flew their flags at half mast. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection Pinchin, before the First World War. There are also Local government mortgages later agreements with local football clubs, including and leases in Newry and Mourne Rockview Rangers, Shamrock Rovers, Windmill Stars, and the Carnbane & District Football League, for Museum Collection provision of playing fields or other facilities. Robert Whan Although the bulk of the material relates to Newry, At the end of 2011, the Museum received a bundle there are seven agreements connected with Annalong of leases from the Council offices at Monaghan Row, Harbour, 1888–1946, and two registers of mortgages Newry. These have now been catalogued and are for Kilkeel Rural District Council, 1904–1973. The available for researchers and members of the public to collection also includes documentation for the building view at the Museum. The 340 leases, and in some cases of the first Urban Council houses in Ireland, which related correspondence, cover the period between the were built in Erskine Street, Newry, in 1900. 1870s and early 1970s. They were granted by Newry Robert Hogg Doherty served as Town Town Commissioners and, after 1898, their successors, Clerk in Newry from 1868 to 1908 under the Town Commissioners Newry Urban District Council. and Newry Urban District Council. The Town Clerk was the principal As a collection they offer an insight into the remit official in local government, and was the precursor to the modern Chief of local government, addressing water supply, the Executive of Council. markets, sewerage, trams and the railway, the telephone Newry and Mourne Museum network, electricity, street lighting and housing. They Collection will also be of interest to those tracing their ancestors with potential insights into the activities of local professional and business people.

There are agreements relating to the purchase of the Newry Water Works Company by the Town Commissioners, to building work carried out at the Gas Works and in connection with Newry markets, as well as the Commissioners’ contracts with David Mahood for the construction of Newry Town Hall (1892) and the bridge on which it is sited (1890).

Recreational amenities also feature, with a series of documents relating to the first cinema in Newry, opened in Canal Street by an Englishman, R. B.

A selection of the mortgages and leases in the Collection. Newry and Mourne Museum Constabulary and the Council was dissolved under Newry Urban District Council special orders extending from the Local Government and the 1922 Dissolution Act, 1921. Major James Hanna McCormick was appointed as Commissioner to perform the duties Shane McGivern of the Council. One of McCormick’s first acts was to rescind the resolutions of the Newry Urban District Following the Irish War of Independence (1919 - 1921) Council which had repudiated the authority of the a truce was agreed in July 1921, which eventually Government of Northern Ireland. This commissioner allowed negotiations to take place between the Dáil and continued in power until January 1923. Westminster leading to the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 and the creation of Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State.

Newry Urban District Council intended becoming part of the new Irish Free State. On 19th December 1921 a motion was passed, “That we, the Urban District Council of Newry, refuse to recognise the authority of the Northern Parliament and pledge our allegiance to An Dáil Éireann”. Newry Urban District Council was not alone in its views; Newry Board of Guardians, Newry No.1 and No.2 Rural District Councils, Warrenpoint Urban District Council, Kilkeel Rural District Council and Board of Guardians, Downpatrick Rural District Council and Keady Urban District Council all openly refused to recognise the authority of the Belfast Parliament.

Patrick Lavery was elected the first Sinn Féin Chairman of Newry Urban Council in January 1922. Mr. Lavery represented the Council at Dublin City Hall where he met with President Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins and assurances were given that northern Nationalists would not be let down. William Cronin, Town Clerk of Newry Urban District Council from 1908 – 1947, had an unsurpassed knowledge of local government procedures and The Council continued to ignore circulars sent from the legislation. He served on a multitude of public bodies, and was awarded an Belfast Parliament. This changed on Saturday 22nd April M.B.E for services to local government. Cronin Park in Newry is named after him. 1922 when the Town Hall was occupied by the Special Newry and Mourne Museum Collection In January 1923 nominations took place for the newly reinstated Newry Urban District Council. As no more candidates than the full complement of the 18 seats had been put forward, no election was held. Sinn Féin refused to put candidates forward as they saw it as the best policy to ignore the Belfast Parliament. A policy which was to continue until the 1985 Council elections. The result was 12 Anti-Partitionists and 6 Partitionists being returned. At the inaugural meeting of the new Council, the anti-Partitionist Chairman and Vice-Chairman passed a resolution stating, that “the vast majority of the inhabitants of Newry are strongly opposed to the partition of Ireland, and they desire to be relieved at the earliest possible date from the authority of the Belfast Partition Parliament”.

The majority of the newly elected Urban Council opposed Partition and hoped that that the Boundary Commission would ensure their eventual transfer into the Irish Free State. The Commission concluded in 1925 without any changes being made to the border.

Hugh John McConville, Chairman of Newry Urban District Council from 1909 – 1922 and from 1929 – 1937. Painted in 1937 by Frank McKelvey. Newry and Mourne District Council In my new job, I was based in the Council Depot Fifty years in Local Government in Francis Street and one of my first duties was to Jack Patterson investigate a complaint about animals being kept in a house. When I visited I found that a donkey was being Most of my life has been spent in local government, as a kept in the living room. worker and later on as a Councillor.

I started work with Newry Urban District Council as a bricklayer in March 1964, and a few years later I was appointed Assistant Town Inspector. The Clerk of Council was Gerald Cronin and after my appointment Newry Urban District Council staff at tea in the Town Hall Pictured, left to right, Maura Turley (née McKeown), Clerk and Shorthand was approved at a Council meeting, he sent for me and Typist, Mary (Maisie) Keenan, Clerical Assistant, Gerald Cronin (Town gave me some useful advice, he said ‘deal with the facts; Clerk) and Maureen Daly, Administrative Assistant. don’t listen to what is hearsay’. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection I remember Charles Blayney, the former Town crew went out from Newry to south Armagh, and Surveyor who worked from 1902 – 1959 in Council. ended up somewhere near Castleblayney. I got a After he officially retired, he continued to measure the call saying, ‘there is one of your lorries in County monthly rainfall and I had to go every month to his Monaghan emptying bins’. house to collect his recordings. There was also Margaret Barry who worked from 1909 – 1970 as a filing clerk in The Troubles impacted on both the old and the new the Town Hall until she retired at 79. However, it was Council. I actually had three cars blown up, and when the custom for women to leave their job in Council bin lorries were hijacked or burnt, it was a scramble to when they got married. find and adapt replacement lorries to empty bins.

The Urban Council had wide responsibilities ranging I took early retirement in 1993, and it was suggested from water supplies, repairing the roads to street that I stand as an Independent Councillor, which I did lighting. These functions were removed from Council and was elected as a Newry Town Councillor. One of control in 1973. Many Urban Council workers were the major highlights of my career was in 2003 when I relocated to the new departments such as the Housing became the first elected Mayor of Council, after Newry Executive and Water Service. Other staff, in particular was awarded City status in 2002. It was a very busy year the refuse workers, were transferred to Newry and and I attended 650 functions. Mourne District Council. It is ironic to think that some functions that were For the first three or four months there was some removed from Councils in 1973, are now coming back confusion in the new Council, for example a refuse to Council in 2015.

Election leaflet for local government election in May 2005 Newry and Mourne District Council

Councillors for Newry and Mourne District Council at their first meeting after the local government elections in May 1977. The female Councillors are Anne Marie Cunningham, Nan Sands and Violette Cromie. Courtesy of The Outlook party and Official Unionists and a few Independents. Memories of Newry The Councillors were people from all walks of life. All Urban District Council meetings took place in the evening as most Councillors worked during the day. Councillors gave their time on John Murphy a voluntary basis, and were not reimbursed. There were some great characters in Council, including Councillor I started work with Newry Urban District Council in Tommy Markey, who led the Newry Labour Party and 1967, and then transferred to the finance department Councillor Tommy McGrath who was chief spokesman of Newry and Mourne District Council in 1973, and I for the Irish Labour Party. The latter was also a member have been there ever since. of the Gas Committee. These two men were keen political adversaries. The period 1967 – 1973 was traumatic due to the outbreak of the ‘Troubles’. My early recollection of that The Council had responsibility for the Gas Works, as time was the ‘rent and rates’ strike, when Nationalist well as the Market. I remember the Market as very politicians encouraged people to refrain from paying, vibrant in those days, with a lot of stallholders, but the as a form of protest against what was taking place at ‘Troubles’ affected trade, and over the years the Market Stormont. It got to a stage where Newry U. D. Council became less busy. was suspended and replaced with Commissioners, who were senior Civil Servants from Stormont. Council also managed the swimming pool in Clanrye Avenue, but in those days recreation was a low priority. The Council was based in the Town Hall in Newry. In It was only later in the Newry and Mourne District the Town Clerk’s Office there was Gerald Cronin, the Council era that recreation became more important, Clerk, and Joseph Morgan, the Assistant Clerk, whose due to the grants available from Stormont. The new duties also included finance, and I worked closely with Council employed a Recreation Officer, Raymond him. There were three ladies, two full-time and one Turley, and today, the district is dotted with playing part-time, who looked after the administration and fields, sport facilities and community centres that in minutes of Council meetings and agendas. There was many ways helped the community through the dark also a Rent Office, a Rates Office and a Town Surveyor’s days of the ‘Troubles’. department.

The Council Yard was in Francis Street, where the staff who maintained the roads, street lighting, refuse and street cleaning, water and sewerage were based.

Council meetings took place in the Boardroom of the Town Hall. There were about 22 Councillors, comprising the Newry Labour Party, Irish Labour A front view of Newry Gasworks The Gasworks closed in 1987 after 165 years of operation. Originally in private ownership, it was later owned by the Town Commissioners and then Newry Urban District Council. It was phased out by Newry and Mourne District Council due to decreasing demand from local consumers. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection for Newry No. 1 R.D. Council, while Nicholas O’Dywer Memories of Newry No. 1 & 2 and Partners were the consulting engineers for No. 2 Rural District Councils R.D. Council. J. L. O’Hagan & Co. were the architects for No.1. The Council resident engineer for No. 1 was Kevin O’Neill William Ellison and for No. 2 Peter McMahon. Danny McRandal was the architect for all the housing in No. I started work in 1962 as a junior clerk for Newry No. 2 Council. Other officials that spring to mind, include 1 Rural District Council (Co. Down side) and Newry Hugh Townson, No.2 R.D. Council Public Health No. 2 Rural District Council (Co. Armagh side). Both Inspector, who commented on the changeover to the Councils shared the same Clerk and administrative larger Council in 1973; “Absolute mistake moving staff, but had separate professional staff such as citizens further from seat of power, in England we had engineers and architects. The Clerk, W.B. O’Donoghue, Parish Councils, bigger is not always better”. was from Forkhill and had served in the First World War. The administrative capital for both Councils was at Monaghan Row, adjacent to Daisy Hill Hospital, reflecting the former association of local government with the Board of Guardians.

No. 1 R.D. Council comprised seventeen Councillors and No. 2 R.D. Council comprised nineteen Councillors. At that time the Councillors reflected the rural nature of the Councils, and were farmers, merchants and auctioneers. Most Councillors were Independent, and not party political, and usually had a ‘standing’ or prominence in the community, which was important for election.

Councillors that stand out from this period include Malachy Trainor who was always lobbying to get more houses built in Creggan, south Armagh. In the 1960s both Councils were heavily involved in building houses.

The Rural Councils also had responsibility for water, Letter from John Oliver to Paddy O’Hagan accepting an invitation to Mr. sewerage, housing and public health, and the staff and W.B. O’Donoghue’s retirement dinner in September 1967. John Oliver was a distinguished Civil Servant who masterminded the beginnings of local consultants employed reflected these diverse functions. government reform in the mid-1960s. In the 1960s Major Reside was the consulting engineer Newry and Mourne Museum Collection The review of local government in 1973 saw the absorption of the Newry Rural District Councils into Newry and Mourne District Council. The new Council was more party political than the former Councils. Its first Chairman was John McAteer (Independent) from Ballyholland. There were also more sub-meetings because of this; the calibre of Councillor also changed, and there was a Unionist-Nationalist divide. In the old Council system, meetings were held at 1pm; in the new Council meetings were now held in the evenings. Electoral voting also changed, with the single transferable vote system introduced.

The first Clerk of Newry and Mourne District Council was Paddy O’Hagan from Hilltown, and after he retired, I became Clerk and occupied that position from 1988 - 1999.

Hugh Brooks, a farmer from Jerrettspass, was a Councillor on Newry No. 1. Rural District Council for the Glen Division and served as Chairman from the 1950s until 1964. He also served as a Councillor on Down County Council. Courtesy of Catherine Brooks Small Urban Councils like Warrenpoint had a lot of Memories of Warrenpoint power, but no money. I remember that there were a Urban District Council number of improvement schemes that needed to be done, but while government grants were available, Jim McCart finding the Council share of expenditure was virtually impossible. This was due to the small amount of rates I had an early interest in politics and joined the that could be raised, as there were only about 3,000 Irish Labour Party when it was first established in people in Warrenpoint in the mid-1960s. Warrenpoint in 1945. I became a Councillor with Warrenpoint U. D. Council in 1964 and was the last The late 1960s and early 1970s was a turbulent time for elected Chairman of that Council. local government, with some Councils only meeting intermittently. This was exacerbated by the events of At that time the Clerk was Noel Slattery, who was Bloody Sunday in 1972. Warrenpoint U.D. Council did followed by Paul Higgins. After he left in 1970, the not meet and we received a letter technically removing Ministry of Development would not sanction a new us from office. A Commissioner was brought in to run appointment and insisted that we share the Clerk with the Council, and ten months later we had the elections Newry Urban Council. At that time Gerald Cronin was for the new Newry and Mourne District Council. Clerk, and he brought some of his staff to Warrenpoint including the Finance Officer, Joseph Morgan and I stood in the election for the new Council and topped Maureen Daly who was the Clerk’s personal assistant. I the poll. I served in the new Council until I retired remember commenting at the time, that the sharing of in 2001. the Clerk with Newry, was the start of amalgamation of Councils.

The Council met in Warrenpoint Town Hall and there were twelve Councillors, who came from a variety of backgrounds, from shopkeepers, factory workers, building trade to boarding house owners. There were two electoral Wards in the town, the East Ward which was represented by five Unionist Councillors, and the West Ward by seven Nationalists.

At that time, being a Councillor was a part-time role, with only two or three meetings each month. These took place at 7pm, which reflected the working life of Councillors. It was an unpaid position, with very Seal of Warrenpoint Urban District Council little in the way of out-of-pocket expenses even for the Newry and Mourne Museum Collection Chairman of Council. Warrenpoint Swimming Baths Built by Warrenpoint Urban District Council, the Baths were opened on 8th June 1908, and were the first of their kind in Ireland. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection There was a relationship between the County Council Former Clerk of Kilkeel Rural and the R.D. Council with regard to maintenance District (South Down) Council of unclassified roads. Farming issues were the responsibility of the Ministry (later the Department) Desmond Egan of Agriculture. The County Council was also responsible for the collection of rates and the setting Originally from Newcastle, I started work with Kilkeel of the Regional Rate. The R.D. Council prepared and R.D. Council in 1947 as a Clerical Assistant. I was submitted to the County Council financial estimates promoted to Assistant Clerk in 1952 and became Clerk and these together with government grants from in 1954, and held this post until the reorganisation of central government were used to set the District Rate. local councils in 1973. I was then transferred to the Department of Environment as a Development Officer The RDC met with the County Surveyor from the in the Roads Service, and retired in 1983. County Council twice a year (called the Half Yearly Meeting) at 2.00 pm before the main RDC meeting When I started work with Kilkeel R.D. Council, office at 3.00 pm. All business had to be concluded inside staff comprised the Clerk and a clerical assistant. one hour. Women began to be employed at a later date and were allowed to remain in Council employment after There were twenty Councillors on Kilkeel R.D. marriage. A part-time rent collector was also employed Council, seventeen of which were elected and three prior to 1947 but eventually became full-time as were co-opted. The Chairman of the Council was from Council housing development increased. Later, a the majority party and the post of Vice Chairman second rent collector was also employed. There were was shared between parties. In the Urban Council also cleaners and “outside” staff. An engineer, solicitor, Unionists refused to share the post of Vice Chairman architect and planner (although the Council did not with Nationalists as the voting margins were so have any planning functions) were employed on a narrow. Most of the Councillors were from a farming consultancy basis. background. There was one female Councillor, Miss Gibney from Annalong. The R.D. Council met on the In 1947 Kilkeel R.D. Council staff were based in the old second Thursday of each month at 3.00 pm. Meetings workhouse building in Kilkeel which they shared with could last into the evening. Councillors were not paid staff from Mourne Hospital. The council area included but were later given an allowance. Rostrevor and extended to Maghera, Bryansford, Dundrum and to near Hilltown. The total population of Prior to the abolition of the Board of Guardians in that area around that time was around 14,000. 1948, both Rural and Urban Councillors sat on the Board to administer the Poor Law Rate. The main functions of the R.D. Council were management of water, sewerage and housing. The County Council looked after the roads and planning. Councillor John Tinnelly (first left) and Desmond Egan (first right), Clerk of Council employees were allowed to stay with the South Down Rural District Council, in March 1969. Council until old age as were Councillors. John © The Outlook Tinnelly, from Rostrevor, became a Councillor with The name change from Kilkeel Rural District Council Kilkeel R.D. Council in 1929 and was still a Councillor to South Down Rural District Council, in 1966, was in 1973. He went on to be a Councillor with Newry and part of the beginning of the reorganisation of local Mourne District Council for a number of years. government by Stormont which culminated in 1973 with fewer and larger councils. When I joined Kilkeel R.D. Council in 1947, the Council had 222 council or labourers’ cottages. By When Kilkeel R.D. Council was dissolved in 1973, 1973, the Council had 800 houses under its charge. all staff were transferred to other posts either in the This necessitated the recruitment of a second rent Civil Service, Newry and Mourne District Council or collector. In 1947 an engineer, Hugh McAleenan, was in Down District Council. Noel Houston who was in employed on a part-time consultancy basis. As the charge of Finance in South Down R.D. Council went workload increased a full-time engineer was recruited, to Newry and Mourne District Council. The Assistant a Mr Finnegan, who had worked with Newry and Clerk, Kevin McKnight from Kilkeel, went to work other local councils. Mr McAleenan continued to be in the Housing Executive and later moved to Down employed part-time. District Council. My fellow Councillors came from different Former Councillor with Kilkeel backgrounds and had a variety of occupations. The Urban Council Chairman, James Stevenson, had been a policeman in Derry and had a milk round in Kilkeel. Robert George Cyril E. Stevenson Hanna, who was Vice-Chairman was a furniture maker and sold timber. Other businessmen and craftsmen I was a Councillor for about five to seven years up were George McVeigh, a tailor and John F. Speers, who to 1973 and represented the Official Unionist Party. owned a garage and also had an undertaking business. Council business was predominantly quiet. The Two other Councillors, Arthur Coulter and Alfie Council had a Unionist majority and relations between Graham, were builders. Stanley McKee was a fisherman Councillors were good. and Stanley Forsythe was a farmer as well as owning a shop in the town. The main issue facing Kilkeel Urban District Council in the 1960s was the provision of housing. More people After Newry and Mourne District Council was set up wanted to come and live in Kilkeel and the town has in 1973, I did not continue as a Councillor as the new doubled in size in the last forty years. Building work area was too large. My brother, James Stevenson, also was put out to tender with McMullans being the retired from being a Councillor at that time. contractors. Among the new Council developments was Harbour Drive which was opened on 24th May 1960.

Notable events during my time as a Councillor included a visit in May 1970 by Lord Grey of Naunton, Governor of Northern Ireland, for the opening of a new road at Shore Bank, Kilkeel. Willie John McBride, the Ireland rugby player, also made a memorable visit to Kilkeel.

The Council was based in an office near the Masonic Hall in Greencastle Street. Meetings took place once a month in the evenings and business revolved around housing and planning. The Council had a Clerk, Junior Clerk and two administrators. Refuse collection was originally undertaken by Willie Aiken with a horse and cart. This was taken over by his son-in-law, who used a Menu from the luncheon held on the occasion of the opening of Shore Bank tractor and trailer and was paid by the Council. by The Lord Grey, Governor of Northern Ireland. James Stevenson retired as a Councillor in 1973. Newry and Mourne Museum Collection tensions escalated Local Government and by 1969 Northern in Northern Ireland Ireland witnessed the breakdown of law Declan Carroll and order as the two communities clashed. From 1921 until 1972 the system of local government in Northern Ireland remained largely unchanged from In this environment that introduced under the Local Government (Ireland) the much needed Act 1898. As a consequence by the late 1960s for a reform of local population of some 1.5 million there were some 73 government was local authorities across Northern Ireland. delayed until 1973. A wide ranging report However by the 1960s the system of local government by Sir Patrick Macrory had become synonymous with gerrymandering of in 1970 advocated electoral boundaries, discrimination in the allocation a major overhaul with John McAteer was the first Chairman of public housing and appointments to public sector of Newry and Mourne District Council, 26 district councils and was an Independent Councillor for employment. Eligibility to vote in local elections replacing the existing Crotlieve. continued to be based on certain practices abandoned structures. The first Newry and Mourne District Council in the rest of the United Kingdom since 1946, i.e. the election to these franchise was based on the ratepayer suffrage and the new bodies took place in May 1973 with the franchise company vote. widened to embrace universal adult suffrage.

Ratepayer suffrage meant that, with some exceptions, These new councils which replaced the former complex only those who were owners or tenants of a dwelling local authority structure found their responsibilities (or their spouses) were entitled to vote in local drastically limited. Their functions were reduced to government elections. Thus lodgers and grown up little more than the emptying of bins, the burying of children still living with parents had no vote. In the dead and the administration of community and addition some large property owners had more than leisure centres. one vote. In 1967 while there were 909,842 voters on the parliamentary electoral register, there were only 694,483 on the local government register.

By the mid-1960s a succession of groups had emerged urging reform of the political system calling for “One Man One Vote”. As the Civil Rights movement became more vocal in its demands traditional communal Local government can also be very parochial. If you The Only Female Chairperson wanted something for your area, you had to first of Newry and Mourne persuade your party colleagues, and then the other parties to support your project. One of the projects I District Council lobbied for was the extension and refurbishment of Josephine O’Hare our youth community centre in Mayobridge. Between grant aid and Council support we raised £350,000 to I was elected in May 1993 to Newry and Mourne extend and refurbish it. So there are times when you District Council and served as an SDLP Councillor are supporting a project that benefits the whole Council for Crotlieve until 2010. For the first eight years, I and other times you were fighting tooth and nail for was the only female Councillor, and it took four years your own electoral area. of constant correction to get Council to address the Chamber as ‘Councillors’, and not ‘gentlemen’. Though, Looking back, it was a privilege to represent people, even then, it was often ‘Councillors and Mrs O’Hare’. because a vote to me is a very precious thing and so many people in the world don’t have it. If someone Serving as a Councillor during the Troubles had its gives you a vote, the very least you can do is to challenges. There was also a stage when a number represent them to the best of your ability. of SDLP Councillors received bomb threats. We cut down the bushes around our house, and the Northern Ireland Office put in sensor lights and gave me a device for checking if there was a bomb under my car. I was also sent a bullet with a sympathy card, and I got threatening phone calls in the middle of the night.

In 1999 I was elected Chairperson of Newry and Mourne District Council. It was a very busy year as it incorporated part of the Millennium year, but I found it very interesting and I enjoyed meeting people. It never failed to surprise me, that when I turned up for an event, people expected a male, rather than a female Chairperson.

I’m very proud of the fact that at the last election, 40% Josephine O’Hare, Vice Chairperson of Newry and Mourne District Council of the SDLP candidates fielded were female. Politics can at the launch of the annual Kilbroney Vintage Rally in 1998. be difficult for women particularly if you have a young Newry and Mourne District Council family, and society is still not that open to women going out there and doing what a man does. A Councillor with thirty years continuous service with Newry and Mourne District Council Brendan Curran

I am now an Independent Councillor, but I was first elected in 1985 as one of three Sinn Féin Councillors in Newry and Mourne District Council. This was the first time that Sinn Féin had contested local government elections in the North of Ireland.

At the time, it was a dilemma for me whether or not to stand for election, as I was about to get married Brendan Curran, Chairman of Newry and Mourne District Council, at a function in 1998. and had secured a job with Council. This was an Newry and Mourne District Council achievement for me. As a former Republican prisoner recently released from prison, jobs were hard to get. I remember there was great opposition to Sinn Féin in local government at this time, mainly as part of a wider I was approached by the Republican movement and Unionist campaign. Many of the issues we raised, or asked to represent them. I was also interested in a projects we lobbied for, were blocked because of the number of local issues such as housing and improving party we represented. So my passage in the Council run down areas of the town, so my campaign must have hasn’t been at all easy and it has been very frustrating struck a chord with voters as I got elected. The electoral and at times very dangerous for my family and I, simply count was in Newry Town Hall and when I was elected because of who I was, and my politics and background. I was raised above supporters’ heads and carried down the main stairs. This was a historic moment, as there In 1998 I became the first Sinn Féin Chairman of had not been a Sinn Féin representative for the town of Council, and I saw this as a sign of equality. Some Newry since 1922 when Newry Urban District Council people embraced my term of office whilst others was dissolved after Partition. blocked it, but it gave me a window into other people’s lives to where people of different political viewpoints I had to give up my job, because you couldn’t be a were coming from. Councillor and work for the Council at the same time. I am retiring as a Councillor in March 2015 and in I sat in Council with two other Sinn Féin colleagues, retrospect I have found my journey as a Councillor who represented electoral wards in south Armagh. a very interesting one, it has been rewarding and I personally got a buzz out of helping my electorate.

Every effort has been made to correctly attribute Acknowledgements photographs used in this booklet and the accompanying exhibition. Thanks are due to the staff and volunteers of Newry and Mourne Museum for their assistance in this exhibition and accompanying booklet:

Declan Carroll Amanda McKinstry Joanne Cummins Shane McGivern Jackie Dodds Anna Savage Caroline Hegerty Dympna Tumilty Conor Keenan Pauline Walsh David Kilner Dr. Robert Whan Greg McAteer

We are grateful to those who contributed articles to this booklet.

Thanks also to the Northern Ireland Museums Council for the funds to conserve artefacts used in this exhibition through the Pilot Community Engagement project and to Landfill Communities Fund administered by Ulster Wildlife.

We would also like to extend a special thanks to those who contributed to the exhibition through donations, loans, expertise or memories including:

Catherine Brooks Ray McGonigle Brendan Curran Eileen McParland Samuel Donaldson Colin Moffett Desmond Egan John Murphy Hilary Halliday Josephine O’Hare Andrew Moffett was first elected in 1977 as Councillor for Newry and Mr & Mrs D Higgins Kevin O’Neill Mourne District Council. He served as an Ulster Unionist Councillor for Jacinta Higgins Jack Patterson the Fews areas during the late 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. He was also Chairman in 1991 – 1992. After a short break from public life, he was Catherine Hudson Marie Quinn re-elected. His late father, Stanley Moffett, served as a Councillor for the Eamon Larkin Cyril E. Stevenson Damolly Division in Newry No. 1 Rural District Council. William McAlpine Rosemary Stretton Newry and Mourne Museum Collection Jim McCart Jacqueline Turley Mary McDonald Staff of The Mourne Observer Mr. & Mrs McDougall Staff of The Mourne Outlook

Compiled by Noreen Cunningham and Dr. Ken Abraham all politics cover.indd 3 24/02/2015 14:03 all politics cover.indd 4 24/02/2015 14:03