It is now just days away from the 2023 local government elections in Northern Ireland.
Voters will take to the ballot box on Thursday, May 18, to make their choice for their council area. In Newry Mourne and Down, the third largest council in terms of population and electorate and fourth largest in terms of geographic area, there has been many changes since the last election in 2019.
In the last election, Sinn Féin gained two seats to become the largest party in the last election. The SDLP lost three seats, Alliance more than tripled their vote and the UUP overtook the DUP as the largest Unionist party.
Read more: Northern Ireland council election 2023: Dates, candidates, where to vote and more you need to know
Commentary from Brown O'Connor described the previous local election as "a real dog fight at the last election between the SDLP and Sinn Féin for dominance".
"The SDLP will be running a defensive operation this year, trying to hold territory from Sinn Féin and Alliance inroads in DEAs such as Downpatrick, Newry and Crotlieve," they added.
"Sinn Féin is seeking to extend its lead by targeting to steal one of the SDLP’s three seats in Downpatrick, and is hopeful to gain one in Newry now that poll-topping independent Gavin Malone is not defending his seat.
"Within unionism, shifts in party allegiance will be tested at the ballot box.
"Harold McKee and Henry Reilly are no strangers on the ballot paper for The Mournes DEA. Briefly UUP MLA for South Down, Harold McKee later defected to the TUV and this year could become the party’s first candidate to be successfully elected onto this council.
"For more than a decade, Henry Reilly was a UUP candidate in the old The Mournes DEA before topping the poll as a UKIP candidate in 2011 and 2014. Reilly joined the TUV for a year (Nov 2015–Nov 2016) and was comfortably elected as an independent in 2019. He’s now standing as the DUP candidate, his fifth affiliation in the area."
Here is the full list of candidates running in Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, where a total of 41 councillors will be elected:
Crotlieve
Jim Boylan (Independent)
Mark Gibbons (Independent)
Finbarr Lambe (Independent)
Kate Murphy (Sinn Fein)
Selina Murphy (Sinn Féin)
Declan McAteer (SDLP)
Ricky McGaffin (UUP)
Karen McKevitt (SDLP)
Daniel Neary (Alliance)
Gerry O'Hare (Sinn Féin)
Hugh O'Reilly (Green Party)
Keith Parke (DUP)
Mickey Ruane (Sinn Féin)
Anne Sheridan (SDLP)
Jarlath Tinnelly (Independent)
Downpatrick
Alexander Burgess (UUP)
Philip Campbell (Sinn Féin)
Cadogan Enright (Alliance)
Conor Galbraith (SDLP)
Oonagh Hanlon (Sinn Fein)
Sharon Harvey (DUP)
Aurla King (SDLP)
Éamonn Mac Con Midhe (Independent)
Louise Rooney (Sinn Féin)
Gareth Sharvin (SDLP)
Declan Walsh (Green Party)
Newry
Doire Finn (SDLP)
Nicola Grant (Workers Party)
Valerie Harte (Sinn Féin)
Geraldine Kearns (Sinn Féin)
Cathal King (Sinn Féin)
Mariya Krupska (Independent)
Sharon Loughran (Aontú)
Aidan Mathers (Sinn Féin)
Andrew McCracken (UUP)
Michael Savage (SDLP)
Helena Young (Alliance)
Rowallane
Terry Andrews (SDLP)
Callum Bowsie (DUP)
Robert Burgess (UUP)
Rachel Gracey (UUP)
Jonny Jackson (DUP)
Tierna Kelly (Alliance)
Dermot Kennedy (Sinn Féin)
David Lee-Surginor (Alliance)
Ali McColl (Green Party)
Slieve Croob
Jim Brennan (Sinn Féin)
Hugh Gallagher (SDLP)
Roisin Howell (Sinn Féin)
Alan Lewis (DUP)
Walter Lyons (UUP)
Rosemary McGlone (Aontú)
Andrew McMurray (Alliance)
Siobhán O'Hare (Sinn Féin)
Seana Pitt (Green Party)
Will Polland (SDLP)
Slieve Gullion
Pete Byrne (SDLP)
Killian Feehan (SDLP)
Aoife Finnegan (Sinn Féin)
Caolan Gregory (Alliance)
Linda Henry (DUP)
Mickey Larkin (Sinn Féin)
Oonagh Magennis (Sinn Féin)
Declan Murphy (Sinn Féin)
Molly Ní Mhánais (Green Party)
Barra Ó Muiri (Sinn Féin)
Aine Quinn (Sinn Féin)
Liam Reichenberg (Aontú)
David Samuel Taylor (UUP)
The Mournes
Willie Clarke (Sinn Féin)
Laura Devlin (SDLP)
Lloyd Douglas (UUP)
Glyn Hanna (DUP)
Leeanne McEvoy (Sinn Féin)
Harold McKee (TUV)
Sean Ó Baoill (Green Party)
Dominic Vincent O'Reilly (SDLP)
Henry Reilly (DUP)
Michael Rice (Sinn Féin)
Jill Truesdale (Alliance)
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