Oliver McMullan

Oliver McMullan
MLA
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
for East Antrim
Personal details
Born (1952-03-22) 22 March 1952 [1]
Cushendall, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Nationality Irish
Political party Sinn Féin
Religion Roman Catholicism
Website Oliver McMullan MLA

Oliver McMullan (born 22 March 1952) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician, who was elected as an MLA to the Northern Ireland Assembly to represent the East Antrim constituency in May 2011. He was also elected to Larne Borough Council in the 2011 local elections.[2][3]

McMullan was active in business life in his native Cushendall, where he owned a local pub.[4] He entered politics in 1993 when he was elected as an Independent to Moyle District Council, topping the poll.[5] He also topped the poll in the same elections in 1997[5] and 2001,[5] standing as either an Independent or Independent Nationalist.

McMullan headed the Independent McMullan list in the 1996 elections to the Northern Ireland Forum. He received 670 votes (2%) in North Antrim,[6] with the list receiving 927 votes (0.12%) across Northern Ireland, meaning that no candidates were elected. McMullan failed to be elected in the same constituency in the 1998 elections, where he polled 1.0%.

He joined Sinn Féin before the 2003 Assembly elections and stood unsuccessfully for the party in East Antrim in those elections and the 2007 Assembly elections. He was re-elected to Moyle District Council in 2005, serving as the first Sinn Féin chairman of the council[4] and a board member on the North Eastern Education and Library Board.[4] He was also a member of Sinn Féin's All Ireland Advisory Committees for Agriculture, Tourism and Rural Development. [7]

After 18 years as a member of Moyle Council, McMullan contested and won a seat on Larne Borough Council in May 2011, standing in and topping the poll in the Coast Road electoral area.[8] In doing so he became the first Sinn Féin councillor on the predominantly unionist council. In November 2011 he resigned from the council, enabling fellow Sinn Féin member James McKeown to take his place.[9]

Just over a week after gaining election he received a death threat from a group claiming to be called the 'Loyalist Action Force'.[10]

McMullan spoke about a family that had been the target of several racist attacks in Glenarm, saying, "There has been a petrol bomb thrown at the house and there has been another occasion when acid was poured over their vehicle."[11]

In 2013 he revealed he was suffering from prostate cancer.[12]

Standing for re-election in the 2016 Assembly election, he retained his seat with 2633 votes.[13]

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ "East Antrim election results". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  3. ↑ UTV Live council election results 2011
  4. 1 2 3 General Election 2010 : Northern Ireland candidates, BBC.co.uk 21 April 2010 accessed 7 May 2011
  5. 1 2 3 Moyle council election results
  6. ↑ North Antrim election results, ark.ac.uk accessed 7 May 2011
  7. ↑ Newtownabbey Times, 21 February 2007
  8. ↑ The election race begins The Ballycastle Chronicle, 14 April 2011
  9. ↑ McMullan resigns from Larne council Larne Times
  10. ↑ Sinn Fein MLA Oliver McMullan sent death threat by post BBC News
  11. ↑ "BBC News - Five rescued after arson attack on house in Glenarm". BBC news. BBC News. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  12. ↑ Suzanne McGonagle, "I'm fighting cancer says MLA", Irish News, 24 August 2013
  13. ↑ East Antrim election results BBC News
Northern Ireland Assembly
Preceded by
Ken Robinson		 MLA for East Antrim
2011 - 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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