Cecil Cousley

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(February 1932 – 12 October 2020) was a politician in Northern Ireland. Cousley was a farmer living near

Ballymoney Ballymoney ( ga, Baile Monaidh , meaning 'townland of the moor') is a small town and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area. The civil parish of Ballymoney is situated in ...

, and an elder at Drumreagh

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Church. Cousley was elected to Ballymoney Borough Council in 1981 for the

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...

(DUP). He was also elected to the

Northern Ireland Assembly, 1982 The Northern Ireland Assembly established in 1982 represented an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to restore the devolution to Northern Ireland which had been suspended 10 years previously. The Assembly was abolished in 1986. Origins The Assem ...

in North Antrim. He held his council seat at each election until he retired in 2015, regularly placing top in the poll. He served as

Mayor of Ballymoney Ballymoney was a local government district with borough status in Northern Ireland. It was headquartered in Ballymoney. Other towns in the borough included Dervock, Dunloy, Cloughmills and Rasharkin. The borough had a population of 31,224 acco ...

in 1988 – 89, 94 – 95 and 2004 – 05, and as Deputy Mayor in 1991 – 92, 2002–03 and 2006 – 07. In 2007, several sheep were killed on his land, leading to speculation that the Beast of Ballybogey, a

phantom cat Phantom cats, also known as Alien Big Cats (ABCs), are large felids such as leopards, jaguars and cougars which allegedly appear in regions outside their indigenous range. Sightings, tracks and predation have been reported in a number of count ...

, was active; the

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ') is the police, police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabu ...

discounted this theory.Big Cat Not to Blame: Police
", '' Ballymoney Times'', 7 December 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cousley, Cecil 1932 births 2020 deaths Members of Ballymoney Borough Council Democratic Unionist Party councillors Mayors of places in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland MPAs 1982–1986 Farmers from Northern Ireland People from Ballymoney