Danny Donnelly (politician)
Danny Donnelly | |
|---|---|
 Donnelly in 2024 | |
| Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for East Antrim | |
| Assumed office 5 May 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Roy Beggs Jr |
| Member of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council | |
| In office 2 May 2019 – 5 May 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Andrew Wilson |
| Succeeded by | Maeve Donnelly |
| Constituency | Larne Lough |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | Northern Irish |
| Political party | Alliance |
| Other political affiliations | Green Party (until 2012) |
| Spouse | Maeve Donnelly[1] |
| Education | St Killian's College[2] |
| Occupation | Politician |
Danny Donnelly is an Alliance Party politician, serving as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for East Antrim since May 2022.[3]
Political career
[edit]Early career (2011-2022)
[edit]Donnelly began his political career as a candidate for the Green Party NI in the 2011 local elections for Larne Borough Council, before leaving the party to join Alliance.[4] Donnelly later ran in the newly formed Mid and East Antrim Borough Council in the 2014 local elections as the Alliance candidate for the Braid constituency, but failed to be elected.[5]
Following this, he ran alongside Stewart Dickson in the 2016 and 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly elections, coming 9th and then 8th - but failing to be elected.[6][7]
He than ran again for Mid and East Antrim District Council in the May 2019 local election, this time as one of the two Alliance candidates for the Larne Lough District. Donnelly was elected on the first count, polling the second most FPVs in the constituency (1,057 votes) and earning 17.66% of the vote.[8]
Later that year, Donnelly replaced Stewart Dickson as the Alliance Party candidate for East Antrim. He contested the 2019 general election, increasing the Alliance Vote in the constituency by 11.7% and coming second.[9] He reduced incumbent MP Sammy Wilson's majority from 15,923 in 2017 to 6,716.[10]
Member of the Legislative Assembly (2022–)
[edit]Donnelly was elected to the 5th seat in East Antrim at the 2022 Assembly election, gaining a seat for Alliance at the expense of the UUP's Roy Beggs, elected, alongside running mate Stewart Dickson, on the fifth stage. He polled 4,224 FPVs, an increase from the 1,817 votes he received in 2017.[11]
At the 2024 general election, Donnelly further reduced Wilson's majority to just 1,306 votes (3.3%), though also suffered a small decline in his own vote share by 0.4%. [12][13][14]
References
[edit]- ^ "Recently elected MLA replaced by his wife on Mid and East Antrim Council". Northern Ireland World. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ St Killian's College [@StKillians] (7 May 2022). "Congratulations to past pupils @DannyDonnelly1 and @PatriciaOLynn. GT very proud of you both 💙💛💙" (Tweet). Retrieved 8 May 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "East Antrim result - Northern Ireland Assembly Elections 2022". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Donnelly leaves Greens to join Alliance". Northern Ireland World. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Local Council Elections 2014 - Results by Stage". The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- ^ "NI Assembly Election 2017 - Result Sheets". The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- ^ "NI Assembly Election 2016 - Result Sheets". The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- ^ "Local Council Election Results". The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- ^ "East Antrim parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- ^ "General Election 2017 Results For East Antrim". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- ^ "East Antrim: Northern Ireland Assembly Elections 2022 Results". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- ^ @allianceparty (15 March 2024). "Congratulations to @DannyDonnelly1 on being selected as Alliance's East Antrim General Election candidate!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "General election results 2024 - East Antrim". BBC News. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ^ "DUP's Sammy Wilson holds East Antrim seat but with reduced majority". Irish News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
External links
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