Martin Morgan

Martin Morgan
48th Lord Mayor of Belfast
In office 2003–2004
Preceded by	Alex Maskey
Succeeded by	Tom Ekin
Personal details
Political party	Social Democratic and Labour Party
Spouse(s)	Dympna Morgan
Alma mater	Queen's University, Belfast
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Martin Morgan is a former Northern Irish politician for the Social Democratic and Labour Party (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. He was a councillor on Belfast City Council until 2005. Morgan was the youngest Nationalist and Catholic to be elected Lord Mayor of Belfast^[1] until the election of Niall Ó Donnghaile (SF). He stood for the party in the 2004 European Parliament elections.^[2] He was the youngest ever Belfast councillor when first elected.

He questioned, but abided by, SDLP support for the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). The PSNI was accused by Morgan and representatives of the local community of using heavy-handed policing to force an Orange Order parade through the mainly Catholic Ardoyne 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. This column deals with current affairs, political and social responsibility matters, particularly but not exclusively in North Belfast.

Morgans grandfather William Mullan was a member of the Irish Army colour party which accompanied 1916 rebel Padraig Pearse’s body to the graveyard.^[3][4]

References

1. SDLP man is new Mayor of Belfast, Independent.ie; accessed 5 October 2015.
2. SDLP Chooses Morgan to defend Hume's seat-The Irish Times
3. Belfast Mayor slammed for attending Easter Rising Ceremony Irish Examiner, May 5th, 2004.
4. Archbishop praises 1916 generation Irish Independent, May 6th, 2014.