Seamus Donovan McClelland (14 January 1949, Toome, County Antrim, Northern Ireland – 23 February 2018[1]) was an Irish Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for South Antrim from 1998 to 2003.
Donovan McClelland | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Legislative Assembly for South Antrim | |
| In office 25 June 1998 – 26 November 2003 | |
| Preceded by | New Creation |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Burns |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Seamus Donovan McClelland 14 January 1949 Toome, Northern Ireland |
| Died | 23 February 2018 (aged 69) |
| Political party | SDLP |
| Spouse | Noreen McClelland |
| Children | 3 |
He was appointed Deputy Speaker in February 2000. He was Chairman of the Standards and Privileges Committee and a member of the Public Accounts Committee.
Educated at Ballymena Academy, he went on to Trinity College, Dublin and Queen's University Belfast where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics. In 1973 Donovan joined the staff of Queen's University Belfast and began his career as a Researcher/Lecturer. He joined the Department of Agriculture in 1975 and, in 1978, took up a post as lecturer in Economics at the University of Ulster.
Donovan entered politics in 1989 when he was elected to Antrim Borough Council. He was elected as Deputy Mayor of the Borough in 1999. He was an SDLP delegate to the Brooke/Mayhew talks in 1992 and a delegate to the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation, established by the Irish Government at Dublin Castle in 1994.[2]
Donovan was elected to the new Northern Ireland Forum in 1996 and was a member of the SDLP delegation to the Multi-party Talks chaired by Senator George Mitchell. He stood as a parliamentary candidate for the South Antrim constituency in the Westminster elections on three occasions.[3]
Personal life edit
McClelland was married to Noreen, a local councillor and 2005 UK General Election candidate for the SDLP. The couple raised three children.[4]
References edit
- ^ McGonagle, Suzanne (24 February 2018). "Former SDLP assembly member Donovan McClelland dies aged 69". The Irish News. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ "The Northern Ireland Assembly -". 26 September 2006. Archived from the original on 26 September 2006.
- ^ "Politics". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 March 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ Whyte, Dr Nicholas. "South Antrim 2003". www.ark.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 10 January 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2007.