Mal O'Hara
Mal O'Hara | |
|---|---|
| Senator | |
| Assumed office 8 April 2024 | |
| Constituency | Administrative Panel |
| Leader of Green Party Northern Ireland | |
| Assumed office 15 August 2022 | |
| Deputy | Lesley Veronica |
| Preceded by | Clare Bailey |
| Deputy leader of Green Party Northern Ireland | |
| In office 9 March 2019 – 15 August 2022 | |
| Leader | Clare Bailey |
| Preceded by | Tanya Jones |
| Succeeded by | Lesley Veronica |
| Leader of theGreen PartyonBelfast City Council | |
| In office 7 May 2019 – 18 May 2023 | |
| Leader |
|
| Preceded by | Georgina Milne |
| Succeeded by | Brian Smyth |
| Member ofBelfast City Council | |
| In office 7 May 2019 – 18 May 2023 | |
| Preceded by | David Browne |
| Succeeded by | Brónach Anglin |
| Constituency | Castle |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 July 1979[1] Belfast,Northern Ireland |
| Political party | Green Party |
| Alma mater | University of Central England in Birmingham |
Malachai O'Hara(born 28 July 1979) is a Northern Irish politician, activist and community worker who has been the leader of theGreen Party Northern Irelandsince August 2022, having previously served as deputy leader from 2019 to 2022.[2]O'Hara was aBelfast City Councillorfor theCastleDEA from2019,[3]until2023.[4]In 2024 he was elected unopposed toSeanad Éireann,ina by-electionto theAdministrative Panel.[5]
Early life[edit]
O'Hara was born in North Belfast. He attendedSt Malachy's College,and was classmates withJohn Finucane,who also later entered politics. Leaving school the same year theGood Friday Agreementwas signed, he then attended theUniversity of Central England in Birmingham.[6]Before entering politics, O'Hara worked as a community worker in loyalist areas, deliveredEuropean Union peace funding programmesand managed health initiatives for theRainbow Project,Ireland's biggest LGBT organisation. While working for the Rainbow Project he was vice-chair of the Equal Marriage Campaign, contributing to the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland.[7][better source needed]
O'Hara is the founder of Alternative Queer Ulster, an evening event that brings LGBTQ people into theNorthern Ireland Assembly,a place often considered "a cold house to the LGBTQ community".[8]
Political career[edit]
O'Hara joined the Green Party in 2014.[2]
He was the Green Party candidate forBelfast Northat the2016 Northern Ireland Assembly election,where he was eliminated on the seventh count with 796 first preference votes (2.18%).
O'Hara stood again in Belfast North at the2017 Assembly election,where he received 711 first preference votes, a 1.7% share of the vote.[9]
At the2017 general election,O'Hara contestedBelfast North,where he finished fifth with 644 votes (1.4%), losing his deposit.
He was elected toBelfast City Councilin 2019 for theCastlearea, in an election where the Greens quadrupled their seats on the council, moving from 1 seat to 4.[10]O'Hara became the first Green Party councillor to be elected in North Belfast. During his term of office, he was one of the few openly LGBTQ+ elected members on the council.[11]
On the council, O'Hara was a prominent campaigner for clean air,rent controlsand climate action.[12][13][14]He has called for acitizens' assemblyto examine if drugs should be legalised in Northern Ireland, citing increasing drug deaths as evidence that Northern Ireland's current approach is "obviously not working."[15]
He was a candidate in Belfast North in the2022 Northern Ireland Assembly electionreceiving 1446 first preference votes thereby increasing his share of the vote to 3.1%.[16][17]
O'Hara became the leader of the Green Party Northern Ireland on 15 August 2022, following a leadership election in which he was the only candidate.[18]He was the first openly gay leader of a major party in Northern Ireland.[19]
At the2023 Northern Ireland local elections,O'Haralost his seat.[20]
In March 2024, O'Hara was announced as theGreen Partycandidate in the2024 Seanad by-electionand he was elected unopposed.[21][22]He took his seat on 8 April 2024.[23]
O’Hara contested Belfast North at the2024 general election.He received 3% of the vote against the incumbent MP,Sinn Féin'sJohn Finucane.
Personal life[edit]
During the first wave of theCOVID-19 pandemic,O'Hara led a group of over 70 volunteers who set up a cross community soup-kitchen to deliver over 17,000 meals to vulnerable people across North and West Belfast.[24][25]
References[edit]
- ^O'Hara, Mal [@oharamal] (28 July 2020)."41 today! How the heck did that happy. So birthday dinner treat from my beau after 6 hour planning meetings. #stillaleo #postlockdownhair"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
- ^abScott, Sarah (10 March 2019)."Meet the new Deputy Leader of the Green Party in Northern Ireland".BelfastLive.Retrieved8 April2022.
- ^Ferguson, Amanda (5 May 2019)."DUP gains seats, but Sinn Féin keeps top spot in Belfast City Council".The Irish Times.Retrieved8 April2022.
- ^"Green Party Northern Ireland leader loses seat on Belfast City Council".Shropshire Star.19 May 2023.Retrieved19 May2023.
- ^https:// rte.ie/news/politics/2024/0325/1439923-seanad/
- ^"North Belfast school friends battle it out in election".BBC News.3 May 2019.Retrieved8 April2022.
- ^Avila, Michael (21 April 2020)."Community voices:" My experience in the grassroots is my motivation for getting anything done in politics "".Northern Slant.Retrieved8 April2022.
- ^Colhoun, Ciara (23 June 2018)."LGBTQ community to take over Stormont for one night only".BelfastLive.Retrieved8 April2022.
- ^"Belfast North Northern Ireland Assembly constituency".BBC News.Retrieved28 November2022.
- ^"Green Party gains show Northern Ireland voters want to step away from 'them and us politics'".belfasttelegraph.ISSN0307-1235.Retrieved8 April2022.
- ^Kerlin, Damian (31 July 2021)."LGBTQ+: Thirty years of Belfast Pride".Belfast Telegraph.ISSN0307-1235.Retrieved8 April2022.
- ^"Ambitious climate change initiative launched in Belfast".belfasttelegraph.ISSN0307-1235.Retrieved8 April2022.
- ^"Demand for rent to be capped in Belfast following house price rise".News Letter.25 October 2021.Retrieved8 April2022.
- ^McConville, Mark (27 January 2020)."Air quality link to 178 deaths in Belfast in single year".Belfast Telegraph.ISSN0307-1235.Retrieved8 April2022.
- ^Hughes, Brendan (7 March 2021)."Green Party wants citizens' assembly to examine decriminalising drugs".BelfastLive.Retrieved8 April2022.
- ^"Belfast North result - Northern Ireland Assembly Elections 2022".BBC News.BBC News.Retrieved28 November2022.
- ^"Green Party deputy leader Mal announced as North Belfast Assembly candidate".Belfast Media Group.Retrieved8 April2022.
- ^"New leader of Green Party NI determined to recapture lost MLA seats".BelfastLive.15 August 2022.Retrieved15 August2022.
- ^Wakefield, Lily (15 August 2022)."Northern Ireland's first out gay party leader vows to 'eradicate' homophobia".PinkNews.Retrieved18 August2022.
- ^PA; Black, Rebecca (19 May 2023)."Green Party Northern Ireland leader Mal O'Hara loses seat on Belfast City Council, a year after predecessor lost Stormont seat".The Irish News.Retrieved26 May2023.
- ^"Green Party nominates Mal O'Hara as Seanad candidate".Green Party Northern Ireland.Retrieved12 March2024.
- ^"Leader of Green Party in NI elected unopposed to Seanad".RTÉ News.25 March 2024.Retrieved25 March2024.
- ^"Mal O'Hara: Green Party NI leader becomes Irish senator".BBC News.8 April 2024.
- ^"Greater Shankhill Act".Facebook.Retrieved9 May2022.
- ^Hughes, Brendan (7 March 2021)."Green Party wants citizens' assembly to examine if drugs should be decriminalised to reduce deaths".Belfast Live.Retrieved18 August2022.