Martin Morgan is an Irish former politician for the

Social Democratic and Labour Party The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland ...

(SDLP). Married to Dympna, a double graduate from the Queen's University of Belfast and a qualified Master's Level Social Worker, Morgan has been a political activist since his teenage years. A former Vice-Chairperson of the SDLP and Executive member. In 1996, he was an unsuccessful candidate in the

Northern Ireland Forum The Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue was a body set up in 1996 as part of a process of negotiations that eventually led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The forum was elected, with five members being elected for each Westmin ...

election in North Belfast. He was a councillor on

Belfast City Council Belfast City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhéal Feirste) is the local authority with responsibility for part of the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of (), the l ...

until

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

. Morgan was the youngest Nationalist and Catholic to be elected Lord Mayor of Belfast until the election of

Niall Ó Donnghaile Niall Ó Donnghaile (; born 28 May 1985) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who has served as Leader of Sinn Féin in the Seanad since June 2020 and a Senator for the Administrative Panel since April 2016. He previously served as Lord Mayor of ...

(SF). He stood for the party in the 2004

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

elections. He was the youngest ever

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

councillor when first elected. He questioned, but abided by, SDLP support for 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 ...

(PSNI). The PSNI was accused by Morgan and representatives of the local community of using heavy-handed policing to force an

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...

parade through the mainly Catholic

Ardoyne Ardoyne () is a working class and mainly Catholic and Irish republican district in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. It gained notoriety due to the large number of incidents during The Troubles. Foundation The village of Ardoyne was founded in ...

area of North Belfast. Morgan left the SDLP after seeing out his third term of office. He writes a weekly "Straight Talking" column in the Belfast newspaper ''

North Belfast News The ''North Belfast News'' is a weekly newspaper published by the Belfast Media Group in Belfast, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, s ...

''. This column deals with current affairs, political and social responsibility matters, particularly but not exclusively in North Belfast. Morgan's grandfather William Mullan was a member of the Irish Army colour party which accompanied 1916 rebel Padraig Pearse's body to the graveyard.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Members of Belfast City Council Social Democratic and Labour Party politicians Lord Mayors of Belfast {{NorthernIreland-mayor-stub