We're Hiring: Client Manager - Brown O'Connor Communications

ROLE: CLIENT MANAGER

Experience: Min 3+ years

Area: Public Affairs & Strategic Communications

Salary: Highly Competitive - On request to hello@brownoconnor.com

Based: Adelaide Street, Belfast City Centre

The Person

Brown O’Connor Communications is seeking a talented and ambitious Client Manager to join the team.

This is an exciting and demanding role within a leading consultancy and requires a resilient individual with demonstrable client management and leadership ability.

You may be already working in public affairs or corporate communications in an agency; as an in-house communications manager; in politics; or as journalist.

You will have a deep professional interest in business, the media and politics and have a detailed understanding of the role that media relations, public affairs, and stakeholder relations plays.

Client Manager Role Specification

Strategic Counsel

Proven client handling skills with experience in managing large accounts, providing proactive strategic advice and great ideas.

Ability to manage a high level of client interaction and be able to design and implement strategies.

Day to Day Delivery

Proven ability to work in a fast paced, often pressurised, outcome orientated environment.

Manage political lobbying campaigns securing policy change, legislative change and the smooth running of political engagement programmes.

Manage public awareness campaigns integrating various methods to create significant public interest.

Write strong editorial content on behalf of clients including press releases, opinion/platform pieces and blogs and ensure coverage across a range of media outlets.

Manage an entire range of suppliers such as photographers, graphic designers, videographers, economists and sectoral experts integral to the successful delivery of client activity campaigns.

Be able to create engaging social media content across multiple platforms.

Forward plan to ensure smooth running of client campaigns on time, and within budget.

New Business Development

Take a leading role in new business development and organic growth opportunities alongside company directors and be comfortable in pitching and proposal development.

Supporting successful tender writing from start to submission.

Experience in identifying and converting new business opportunities.

People Management

Line management duties with wider members of team.

Understanding the requirement to work with efficiency and profitably.

Manage team members on client accounts to ensure work is carried out successfully and within allocated budgets.

Work as a team player with Brown O’Connor colleagues to ensure success across client accounts.

Deliver outcomes for clients and work to raise their profile in the media and with key stakeholders in a positive way.

Criteria

3+ years working in the areas of Public Affairs and/or Corporate or Strategic Communications or within a communications environment (Agency experience preferred).

Third Level Degree or equivalent in the preferred areas of Communications, Law, Politics, Business, Social Science or Humanities.  

Possess strong writing and editing skills with ability to write attention-grabbing media material, client correspondence and reports.

An excellent communicator both written and oral.

Commercially and politically aware.

Outstanding organisational skills and ability to manage multiple projects at the same time.

Strong initiative, leadership skills and work ethic.

Ability to hustle to make things happen.

Willingness to work evenings and weekends as required by client and other activity. 

Clean driving licence and access to a car.

Desirable Criteria

Experience in working in a similar communications role in the Republic of Ireland.

How to Apply

To apply in strict confidence, please send your detailed CV, covering email and the completed response to the set question below, by email, to Brown O’Connor Communications at hello@brownoconnor.com by 5pm Wednesday 31st May  2023.

QUESTION: Please outline, with examples, how you meet the Criteria as outlined in the Job Specification (Word Limit 300).

Please state your name and ‘Brown O’Connor Client Manager 2023’ in the subject line.

Application Process

Initial shortlisting

Two stage interview

Local Government Election Briefing Series 2023: Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council

KEY POINTS

• The council chamber has a majority of Unionist councillors

• The only council outside of Belfast to elect a PUP councillor 

• A rare region where both the DUP and Sinn Féin improved their vote share and their seat tally in 2019

ABOUT THE COUNCIL AREA

This sprawling council stretches all the way from Greysteel in the west to the Glens of Antrim and Rathlin in the east. The new Causeway Coast and Glens District Council merged together four predecessor Councils: Moyle District Council and the borough councils of Ballymoney, Coleraine and Limavady. It’s the second largest council by geographic area, and the second least densely populated (72 people per square kilometre) and has the third fewest electorate (according to the April register).

PREVIOUS ELECTION

• DUP increased their vote share by 3.4 percentage points and added three to their seat tally in 2019

• Sinn Féin increased their vote share by 2.3 percentage points and gained two seats

• Progressive Unionist Party retained their single seat on the council and doubled their vote

• UUP’s share of the vote dropped and they lost three seats

• TUV performance halved at the ballot box and the party lost all three councillors

• Every woman on the ballot paper for Ballymoney, Limavady and The Glens DEAs was elected in 2019

SINCE 2019

• Five councillors left their parties and remained on council as independents: William McCandless (formerly UUP), Stephanie Quigley (SDLP), Angela Mulhooland (SDLP), James Corkell (DUP) and Adrian McQuillan (DUP)

• Alan Robinson was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in May 2022

• A Sinn Féin councillor was expelled from the party and replaced

• Popular independent councillor (Ambrose Laverty) who topped the poll in May 2019 resigned and was replaced

• Former minister and MLA Mervyn Storey (DUP) joined the council last summer after the death of the John Finlay

COMMENTARY

Politically Causeway Coast and Glens bucked the overall trend at the last election: the only council with a swing towards the DUP and Sinn Féin both in terms of vote share and seats won. The protest vote that was felt in other places was absent in this council area.

The big losers in 2019 were the TUV who suffered a collapse in their vote (dropping from 10.4% to 4.3%) and lost all three of their council seats. Despite this being an area of continued TUV support in subsequent elections, the party is only running four candidates across the seven DEAs. A two-percentage point drop in share resulted in the UUP netting just seven seats at the last election, a reduction of three.

The SDLP’s vote share also dropped in 2019. Defending six seats in 2019, the party successfully ran six candidates. However, three were the last to be elected in their DEA and squeezed in with fewer than 160 votes. Only two candidates from 2019 is running again for the party at this election with two former SDLP councillors having left the party during the council term. (One is standing for re-election as an independent.) Any swing away from the SDLP in this election will result in a sharp loss of seats for the party and may - due to the electoral mechanics in the DEAs - benefit unionist rather than other nationalist candidates.

Alliance also did well in 2019 and are targeting gains. They currently have two councillors, although sitting councillor Chris McCaw (who nearly won an Assembly seat in 2022) is standing down. A small swing would make Alliance competitive in Ballymoney and Limavady DEAs and perhaps pick up a second seat in Causeway.

Causeway Coast and Glens is the PUP’s best performing council area in terms of vote share. Russell Watton topped the poll in Coleraine DEA in 2014 and 2019 and may well be the party’s only councillor elected at this election.

Bann DEA has 12 candidates chasing just five seats (up from 10 in 2019) which will make this a very slow count.

Local Government Election Briefing Series 2023: Derry City and Strabane District Council

KEY POINTS

●       Best performing council for the SDLP (25.5% share of first preference vote) and People Before Profit (5.9% share).

●       Only council to elect an Aontú councillor in 2019.

●       Only council where two parties are joint biggest (Sinn Féin and SDLP both on 11 seats each).  

ABOUT THE COUNCIL AREA

While an earlier proposal would have fashioned a much larger North West regional council encompassing Magherafelt and parts of Limavady, the local government reform ended up merging the former Derry City Council and Strabane District Council to create the new 40-seat council. Northern Ireland can be divided into 890 ‘super output areas’ and these can be ranked in terms of multiple deprivations. 20 of the 100 most deprived SOAs in Northern Ireland fall within Derry and Strabane, covering 25% of the council’s population.

PREVIOUS ELECTIONS

●       Sinn Féin suffered the biggest swing away from the party (6.0 percentage points) of any council at the last election.

●       Independent candidates took 12.6% of the vote (the highest in Northern Ireland).

●       Alliance gained their first two seats on the council in 2019.

●       People Before Profit ran four candidates and got two elected.

SINCE 2019

●       There were numerous resignations and co-options during the last council term.

●       Cara Hunter and Sinead McLaughlin were co-opted into the Northern Ireland Assembly during 2020.

●       Aontú’s Anne McClockey resigned from the council in November 2020.

●       People Before Profit’s Eamonn McCann resigned from council in March 2021.

●       Graham Warke resigned from the DUP to sit as an independent in June 2022.

●       Derek Hussey was elected as a UUP councillor, was suspended from council for 15 months (during this period he resigned, a replacement was co-opted and then resigned to allow Hussey to return), was later suspended from the UUP and sat as an independent, but ultimately finished the term as a UUP councillor.

COMMENTARY

The SDLP and Sinn Féin currently have an equal number of councillors and are within a few percentage points of each other in the popular vote. This election will be quite a battle with Sinn Féin wanting to regain some of the seats they lost in 2019, and the SDLP seeking to consolidate their strong showing at other recent elections.

Four independent councillors were elected to Derry and Strabane District Council in 2019. Gary Donnelly topped the poll in The Moor and is seeking re-election. Sean Carr (formerly SDLP councillor in The Moor and latterly independent in Foyleside) pushed past Sinn Féin to win the final seat in his DEA by less than 20 votes. Carr is not standing this year opening up the possibility for an SDLP or Sinn Féin steal.

Another interesting dynamic is the impact of People Before Profit and Aontú. Both parties benefited from well-known local personalities Eamonn McCann and Anne McCloskey, both of whom subsequently stepped down from the council and are not running in May 2023.

The Faughan DEA sees two former DUP councillors running under different flags. Last year Ryan McCready (now UUP) came close to winning an Assembly seat from the DUP. Graham Warke quit his old party on the day his term as Mayor finished. He’s standing in this election as an independent. The pair are up against two new DUP candidates with the party particularly keen to win back these seats given the lack of fertile ground for gains elsewhere.

Alliance will be looking to build on their two-seat tally from 2019 and see the effect of the surge witnessed in more recent elections. Sperrin is a target. However, their share of the vote would need to double or triple in most of the other DEAs for them to become competitive to win additional seats. 

Aircoach celebrates 30,000 passenger landmark

Dervla McKay, Managing Director of Aircoach

Aircoach, Ireland’s leading private bus and coach operator, has hit 30,000 passengers on its new 705X North West Service.

The service connecting Derry/Londonderry to Belfast International Airport, Dublin Airport and Dublin City Centre has serviced over 30,000 passengers since its launch in January helping to bring people to work, students to university and new visitors to the region like never before.

This landmark follows on from the company acquiring the much-loved North West passenger company, Airporter, in October.

The new service brought a wide range of benefits to passengers including:

·        Routes running seven days a week beginning at 01:05am daily.

·        Stops at Foyleside Coach Park, Drumahoe Park and Ride, Belfast International Airport, Belfast City Centre, Dublin Airport and Dublin City O’Connell Street.

·        Reduced fares between Derry/Londonderry and Belfast International Airport by up to £13 based on a return fare.

·        As well as contactless payment, free wi-fi onboard, the Aircoach Advantage loyalty program and flexible booking options.

In the coming weeks the company will launch its new mobile app designed with innovation and user friendliness to the forefront. The app will focus on simplifying the customer booking experience while providing route tracking functionality

Tickets for the new service can be purchased via the Aircoach website or on board through a contactless payment system.

Dervla McKay, Managing Director of Aircoach said:

“We are thrilled to have hit this important milestone for our 705X service in the North West. Since the first day of the route, we have been blown away with the response from local people and are excited to build upon its success.”

“As a native of the North West I know first-hand how difficult it is to reach other travel and economic hubs on the island of Ireland and further afield. Aircoach want to ensure that the by gone days of travel detachment for the region never return by working with our partners to potentially design new routes and further develop the 705X service.”

“The recent opening of the Dungiven to Derry/Londonderry section of the A6 will increase the viability of the service like never before to allow us to achieve many more significant passenger landmarks in the near future.”

New Brexit deal offers Northern Ireland unique opportunity, says Manufacturing NI

(L-R) Sheena Bohan, Atradius; Chris Guy, Mills Selig; Grainne McVeigh, Invest NI; Nigel Birney, Lockton; Joanne McEvoy, InterTradeIreland; Gavin Campbell, Barclays; William Taylor, KPMG; Gareth Hagan, OCO Global; Mary Meehan, Manufacturing NI; and Patrick Moore, Flexsource.

The Windsor Framework secures Northern Ireland’s unique economic opportunity which must be grasped, the head of Manufacturing NI has said.

Speaking at the launch of Manufacturing Month 2023 at Hinch Distillery, Manufacturing NI Chief Executive Stephen Kelly said the new deal struck between the UK and the EU provides, if properly maximised, the basis to bring prosperity and economic growth across Northern Ireland.

Manufacturing Month 2023 was officially launched at an event, the major annual initiative which celebrates our local manufacturing and engineering firms. The month is backed by some of Northern Ireland’s leading companies and organisations including Atradius, Barclays, CPL, InterTradeIreland, Invest Northern Ireland, KPMG, Lockton, and Mills Selig.

Led by representative body Manufacturing Northern Ireland, the entire month of May is dedicated to highlighting the companies, workers, and leaders who make the Northern Irish manufacturing sector the global success story it is. The month includes a busy programme of events, webinars, content from the sector, the flagship ‘Anchor High’ leadership summit, and the Manufacturing Hall of Fame dinner in the Guildhall in Derry on 31 May.

The launch event brought together business leaders, politicians, manufacturers, and educators from across Northern Ireland. Sponsored by OCO Global, ‘Welcome to the World’s Most Exciting Economic Zone?’ was trade and investment focused and explored the potential offered by the Windsor Framework and the country’s economic transformation since the signing of the Belfast / Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

(L-R) Mary Meehan, Manufacturing NI; Mark O’Connell, OCO Global; Gareth Hagan, OCO Global; and Stephen Kelly, Manufacturing NI.

Speaking at the Manufacturing Month launch event at Hinch Distillery, Manufacturing NI Chief Executive Stephen Kelly said:

“In recent weeks we have had Prime Ministers and Presidents travel to Northern Ireland, accompanied by the world’s media, promoting the globally unique trade and investment opportunity which the Windsor Framework secures.

“We all share an ambition to make this a prosperous place and more prosperous people, so it is crucial that our political, policy and business leaders take this opportunity and fully maximise the benefits of dual-market access.  Our manufacturers are already proving that this opportunity is real by securing record exports, driving prosperity and economic growth for our businesses, our workforce, and for communities across in Northern Ireland.

“This Manufacturing Month, we are demonstrating the unique role that our manufacturers perform in solving problems for customers across the globe whilst delivering more and better jobs in every city, town and townland here at home.”

Gareth Hagan, CEO of OCO Global, also added:

“Research by OCO Global has proven the economic boost that has been delivered since the Good Friday Agreement for Northern Ireland. It’s undeniable that peace has brought increased investment, more jobs, a huge boost to industries like tourism and hospitality, and made our country a much more attractive place to live, work, invest, and do business.

“Dual-market access is the next piece of the puzzle for Northern Ireland. If we can successfully maximise this unique position we find ourselves in, the evidence is there that says we can grow our economy by up to 50%, create over 30,000 new jobs, and welcome millions more visitors every year. Our manufacturing and engineering sector is one of the most likely to benefit from this dual-market access also, trading their goods all around the globe and attracting new foreign investment. We were delighted to support today’s event and set the scene for the month ahead, providing a positive and optimistic view of the potential benefits of the new Windsor Framework.”

Local Government Election Briefing Series 2023: Fermanagh and Omagh District Council

KEY POINTS 

• Highest turnout (62.4%) of any council area at last election

• One of only two councils where the UUP outpolled the DUP in 2019

• Sinn Féin dominates the nationalist majority of seats on the council

ABOUT THE COUNCIL AREA

The new council was a simple merge of the old Fermanagh District Council and Omagh District Council. Geographically it covers the largest area (21 times the footprint of Belfast City Council) and has one councillor for every 2,923 people (the highest representation for any council in NI).

PREVIOUS ELECTIONS

• Sinn Féin has been the largest party on this council since its inception

• Deborah Armstrong pipped her DUP colleague David Mahon to the last seat in Erne North by 27.02 votes

• Cross Community Labour Alternative won their only 2019 council seat in the Enniskillen DEA 

• Alliance secured a seat for the first time in at the last election

• 4 independents were elected in 2019

• Aontú recorded their highest share of the vote (2.1%) in this council, though all four candidates were quickly eliminated, and none received more than half a quota of first preference votes

SINCE 2019

• Deborah Erskine was co-opted into the Assembly in September 2021

• Sinn Féin councillor Sean Donnelly died in December 2021 

• Former UUP MLA, Rosemary Barton was co-opted back onto council in November 2022

• A number of other councillors resigned and were replaced by co-option.

COMMENTARY

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council can boast the most engaged electorate in all of Northern Ireland with a turnout rate in 2019 that was a full 10 percentage points higher than the NI average. This council area has led Northern Ireland in turnout since its creation in 2014, always above 60%. 

Sinn Féin are the largest party on the council with 15 councillors. The party won the plurality of the vote in every DEA in 2019, even though their overall vote and seat count were down on 2014’s results. Four out of the party’s five candidates running in Mid Tyrone were elected with a combined 3.7 quotas of first preference votes (though their lowest placed candidate was first to be eliminated).

At the last two elections, the UUP have come home with nine seats – the second largest party on council – well ahead of the DUP’s five, making this one of just two local authorities (Newry, Mourne & Down is the other) where the UUP bested the DUP.  Fermanagh has been home to household names within unionism such as Arlene Foster, Tom Elliott, Harry West and Basil Brooke. Despite their high seat total, the UUP only polled 335 votes more than the DUP across the council’s seven DEAs, so watch closely to spot any shift of power within unionism when the results come in after May 18th. 

At the last poll, the SDLP held just five of the eight seats they’d won in 2014. The party suffered particularly in the Omagh area with the loss of two high profile former councillors who ran as independents, one of whom, Josephine Deehan, won her seat. Alliance were also able to capitalise on the division in this DEA and their first ever councillor elected in the region at the SDLP’s expense. 

An unaligned independent did damage in Mid Tyrone, with Emmet McAleer stealing a seat from the SDLP which the party would be keen to win back. Likewise, Sinn Féin dropped a seat to an independent in Erne East, and another to Cross Community Labour Alternative in Enniskillen who will need to consolidate their vote if they hope to retain it for a second term.

Local Government Election Briefing Series 2023: Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council

KEY POINTS 

• One of the few councils that saw the UUP increase their seats in 2019.

• The DUP are the biggest party on this council, which has the second biggest majority of unionist councillors in NI.

• In 2019, the Greens and Sinn Féin won seats for the first time on this council.

• The TUV lost their only seat in 2019.

ABOUT THE COUNCIL AREA

Geographically, Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council is shaped like a hen: the consequence of amalgamating four fifths of the old Lisburn City Council with a little under two thirds of Castlereagh District Council. For five years in a row, across all 11 councils, Lisburn and Castlereagh has had the highest Gross Disposable Household Income per head, totalling £19,795 in 2020.

PREVIOUS ELECTIONS

• In 2019, the DUP took 36.7% of first preference votes, massively above their Northern Ireland-wide share of 24.1%. 

• Alliance achieved the second highest share in 2019 (23.6%) but came third in seats. 

• 11 out of 12 UUP candidates won in 2019, increasing their seat count by three and improving their vote share (17.6% up from 16%) in results that bucked the NI-side trend.

• The SDLP (8.7%) polled above Sinn Féin (5.4%) in 2019, though both parties won two seats.

SINCE 2019

• Within nine months, Alliance’s Tim Morrow resigned and handed the reins to Sharon Lowry.

• Nathan Anderson (formerly DUP) now sits as an independent.

• Si Lee (formerly Green Party) defected to the SDLP.

• David Honeyford and Sorcha Eastwood were elected to the Assembly in May 2022.

COMMENTARY

Results from Lisburn and Castlereagh may foretell the story across Northern Ireland, namely the battle within unionism, within nationalism, and any further rise of support for Alliance. 

Both former councils – Lisburn and Castlereagh – were unionist strongholds, and the new council has remained strong territory for the DUP. In 2014, the party was just shy of an overall majority on the council (20 out of 40 seats), but in 2019 it suffered a loss of five seats. Even with these losses the DUP remained the largest party on the council and will still have the largest clout after May’s election.

The UUP have a solid base of support with 11 councillors elected in 2019, up from eight in a showing that went against the party’s Northern Ireland-wide downward trend. The DUP are entering at a low ebb from their disappointing 2019 result. They will be hoping they can halt the UUP and potentially gain back lost ground in Lisburn North and Lisburn South. The big unknown within unionism is the TUV, who lost votes in 2019 but have performed well in other elections in the area in the meantime. 

Alliance nearly doubled their vote share in 2019, but only picked up two extra seats due to running insufficient candidates to soak up excess quotas of votes. Now second largest in terms of votes, but third in seat numbers, Alliance are looking to build on their continued momentum since 2019, most likely cannibalising some of the UUP’s gains in the last election. 

Shifts are to be expected within nationalism. The SDLP lost a seat in 2019, and Sinn Féin may well rise above them in terms of first preference votes and seats in May 2023. Former SDLP MLA Pat Catney who had been expected to challenge for his old seat in Killultagh is instead running to retain the Lisburn North seat held by Johnny McCarthy (originally elected as NI21’s only successful candidate in 2014 before joining the SDLP). Sinn Féin are also targeting this seat to build on their 0.6 quotas of first preferences in 2019. In Castlereagh South, John Gallen is seeking re-election alongside his SDLP running mate, former Green Councillor, Si Lee. Given the SDLP’s performance in 2019 (1.3 quotas), even if Lee retains a portion of his Green vote (0.6 quotas), holding both seats will be a stretch without an increase in support or turnout.

Manufacturing Month returns as Manufacturing NI celebrates 20 years in business

(L-R Back row) Nigel Birney, Head of Trade Credit at Lockton; Andrew McBurney, Commercial Manager at Atradius; John Mathers, Corporate Development Director at Barclays; Barry Winkless, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of the Future of Work Institute at CPL; William Taylor, Strategy Director at KPMG and Chris Guy, Managing Partner at Mills Selig. (L-R Front row) Grainne McVeigh, Director of Advanced Manufacturing, Engineering and Life Sciences at Invest NI; Mary Meehan, Deputy Chief Executive of Manufacturing NI and Alison Currie, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at InterTradeIreland.

Manufacturing Month, the annual major initiative which showcases the success and strength of Northern Ireland’s manufacturing and engineering sector, returns this May.

Led by representative body Manufacturing Northern Ireland, the entire month of May is dedicated to highlighting the companies, workers, and leaders who make the Northern Irish manufacturing sector the global success story it is. The month includes a busy programme of events, webinars, content from the sector, the flagship ‘Anchor High’ leadership summit, and the Manufacturing Hall of Fame dinner in the Guildhall in Derry on 31 May.

This year’s Manufacturing Month will also mark the 20th anniversary of Manufacturing Northern Ireland, formed in the North West in the early 2000s to provide the local manufacturing and engineering sector a strong, collective voice on issues which affected them. The organisation has flourished since then by delivering when it mattered most on issues as varied as Brexit, Covid, skills, business rates, access to labour, and investment.

The month is sponsored by some of Northern Ireland’s leading companies and organisations including Atradius, Barclays, CPL, Intertrade Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland, KPMG, Lockton, and Mills Selig.

Manufacturing Month was first launched pre-Covid in March 2020 and brings together manufacturing firms, industry leaders, policy and key decision makers, schools, and young people to recognise the strengths of the sector, the great careers which are enjoyed and are possible, and celebrate the contribution local firms make to our economy and solving problems globally.

(L-R) Stephen Kelly, Chief Executive of Manufacturing NI and Mary Meehan, Deputy Chief Executive of Manufacturing NI

Stephen Kelly, Chief Executive, Manufacturing NI said:

“It is particularly timely that Manufacturing Month 2023 comes as we have been commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Global eyes have been fixed on this place for the past month, politicians and leaders from across the world have heralded the progress we have made since 1998, and they have spoken of our untapped economic potential. Our local manufacturing and engineering sector is at the forefront of that positive economic story we have to tell here in Northern Ireland.

“Manufacturing Month is an opportunity to recognise and properly mark the contribution made by our makers and innovators. The sector is directly responsible for over 11% of all jobs but fully support thousands of others meaning that 1 in 4 families in Northern Ireland rely on a manufacturing wage. Even with the challenges which have faced our local companies over the past few years, with record inflation and prices of everything from materials to energy going through the roof, our sector is buoyant and increasingly capturing opportunities.

“As the sector evolves and becomes more sophisticated through automation and digitisation, Northern Ireland will remain at the cutting edge of the global manufacturing industry. We have a potent mix of highly successful indigenous companies and foreign investors who have made Northern Ireland their home. This is, in large part, down to our skilled talent, strong pipelines from our excellent educational institutions, and the innovation of our local manufacturing leaders.

“This Manufacturing Month, we are looking to the next 25 years, aiming to map out a path for our local manufacturers to remain competitive globally and become more sustainable in an evolving economy. We want to ensure that our sector remains a key contributor to the regional economy of Northern Ireland and continues to be considered an attractive career choice for our very best and brightest.”

Local Government Election Briefing Series 2023: Ards and North Down Borough Council

KEY POINTS 

• Lowest turnout by far (43.6%) of any council area in 2019.

• Best performing council area for the Green Party (10.2%).

• Biggest swing to the Alliance Party of any council area in 2019. 

• Lowest combined vote share (3.9%) for nationalism at last election.

ABOUT THE COUNCIL AREA

Ards and North Down Borough Council combines most of the old North Down District Council with the former Ards District Council. It wraps around two thirds of the Strangford Lough shoreline, with the whole peninsula from Portaferry up to Bangor, across to Holywood, down into Newtownards and – on the western shore – stretching down as far south as Killinchy. Demographically, it’s got the lowest proportion of under 40s and the highest proportion of over 65s of any council in Northern Ireland. 

PREVIOUS ELECTIONS

• The unionist majority of councillors dropped from 27 to 23 (out of 40) between the last two elections.

• SDLP’s Joe Boyle holds the only nationalist seat on the council.

• Has never elected a Sinn Féin councillor, with the two candidates picking up just 267 votes in 2019.

SINCE 2019

• Two DUP councillors now sit as independents (Bill Keery and Wesley Irvine). Stephen Cooper (formerly TUV, and a very competitive candidate for Strangford in the 2022 Assembly election) is now an independent.

• Carl McLean resigned from the UUP and, after a week as an independent, joined the DUP. Stephen Dunne (DUP) was co-opted to the Assembly in July 2021.

• Andrew Muir was co-opted to the Assembly in December 2019. Connie Egan and Nick Mathison were elected to the Assembly in May 2022.

• Rachel Woods has gone full circle, elected as a councillor for Holywood and Clandeboye in May 2019, being replaced (twice) while she was co-opted as a North Down MLA, and finally returning to council last September after losing her Assembly seat in May 2022.

• Popular independent Jimmy Menagh died and was replaced by Steven Irvine. A number of other councillors resigned and were replaced.

COMMENTARY

Ards & North Down is a barren council for nationalism, with just one councillor from the SDLP (Joe Boyle, their only candidate in 2019 having run three in 2014) holding a seat. The combined nationalist vote was less than 4% in 2019, down from around 5% in 2014.

23 out of the 40 seats in the last election were taken by unionist candidates (down from 27 in 2014). The DUP have led the pack since the new authority was created. In 2019, the DUP shed seats to the Alliance Party, losing vote share in every DEA except Ards Peninsula. The most pronounced drop was a 5-percentage point fall in Holywood and Clandeboye.

Support for the UUP also fell back in 2019, losing one seat. The two main unionist parties fell prey to the Alliance surge, who gained three seats and a nine-percentage point swing to them on first preferences to control a quarter of the council’s 40 seats. On paper, Alliance’s best chance for growth is by picking up a third seat in Bangor West where they polled strongly in 2019. Three candidates are being run in Bangor Central (where their single candidate won her seat with 1.3 quotas of first preferences in 2019) with a chance of winning two. 

More than a third of the council chamber are ‘other’ rather than unionist or nationalist. It’s a Green heartland and the seed of the party’s 2007 breakthrough to the Assembly. Winning 10% of first preference votes in 2019 was their strongest showing anywhere in Northern Ireland. The party holds three council seats locally (all over or just a handful of votes shy of a quota) and only missed out from picking up a fourth by 71 votes in Bangor East & Donaghadee at the last election. However, watch to see whether the Greens lose significant vote share to Alliance in a repeat of the 2022 Assembly election.

Ards and North Down is a fertile ground for independents, with three elected in 2019 and a total of six outgoing councillors now designating as independent at the time of writing. Jimmy Menagh topped the poll in Newtownards with more than two quotas of first preferences in 2019. His replacement Steven Irvine is running this May.

MIT’s brightest young technology innovators will gather in Donegal for two-day conference

(L-R) Adam Goodall, Investment Project Manager at Derry City and Strabane District Council; Amy Dickson, Events Coordinator at Aisling Events; Councillor Liam Blaney, Mayor of Donegal County Council and Micheál Ó Dubhir, Development Officer at Udaras na Gaeltachta.

A world-leading technology conference that showcases Europe’s brightest young tech stars will be hosted in Donegal next month.

On May 11-12, MIT’s Innovators Under 35 will bring Europe’s most aspiring young innovators to Gaoth Dobhair, on Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way to showcase their work and demonstrate how they are already helping to make the world a better place through pioneering advances in technology.

The MIT Innovators Under 35 has been celebrating young changemakers for more than 20 years and will also feature some of the world’s leading technologists, with biomolecular physicist Georgios Nounesis, Director of the Greek National Centre for Scientific Research, ‘Demokratis’, delivering a keynote to the final list of Young Innovators.

Georgios and the young innovators will also be joined by distinguished leaders in innovation and tech from Italy, Andorra, the USA, Sweden and Holland including Vanesa Aroyo, Head of the Innovation Agency in Andorra and author Nicklas Bergman who sits on the Investment Committee of the European Innovation Council Fund.

Notable alumni of MIT’s Innovators Under 35 include Google Founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, CRISPR Technology Pioneer Feng Zhang and Tesla Motors Co-Founder JB Straubel.

The festival is sponsored by Údarás na Gaeltachta, the North West City Region Councils of Derry City and Strabane District Council and Donegal County Council, NUI Galway, Catalyst, Randox, Optum, Ulster University, Unosquare and Atlantic Technological University. 

The focus of this year’s festival will look at how technology can make society a better place and help generate economic growth in areas including biotechnology and medicine, computer and electronics, hardware, software, Internet, artificial intelligence, robotics, telecommunications, nanotechnology and materials, energy and transportation.

The festival will also showcase the wildness and beauty of Gaoth Dobhair and the surrounding Gaeltacht area that is playing host to this year’s visitors. The 175 attendees will see how truly remote the Gaeltacht area is, but how the modern advances in technology mean that a place as remote as Gaoth Dobhair can also be as connected as any major world city.

Connla McCann, Director of Aisling Events which is hosting the festival said:

“Gaoth Dobhair is an area of rich heritage and culture right at the heart of the largest Gaeltacht in Ireland. Despite being located on the Atlantic’s Edge the area can now also boast some of the strongest broadband connectivity on the island of Ireland and a range of European-class companies at its business park. It’s digital Gteic hub provides accommodation for tech workers and entrepreneurs who can deliver services for global companies while still living under the shadow of the Errigal. It’s a treat to be bringing the most brilliant young innovators across Europe to a region which is demonstrating that innovation can happen on the road less-travelled.”