May Beattie Explained

May Beattie
Order:Member of
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council
Constituency:Knockagh
Term Start:22 May 2014
Term End:2 May 2019
Predecessor:Seat created
Successor:Marc Collins
Office1:Member of Carrickfergus Borough Council
Constituency1:Knockagh
Term Start1:21 May 1997
Term End1:22 May 2014
Predecessor1:William Haggan
Successor1:Council abolished
Office2:Member of the Northern Ireland Forum for
East Antrim
Term Start2:30 May 1996
Term End2:25 April 1998
Birth Date:1950
Birth Place:Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland
Party:Traditional Unionist Voice (2019 - present)
Otherparty:Democratic Unionist Party (1993 - 2019)

May Beattie (born c. 1950) is a former Northern Irish unionist politician who was a Mid and East Antrim Councillor for the Knockagh DEA from 2014 to 2019. A former member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Beattie previously represented Knockagh on the former Carrickfergus Borough Council from 1997 to 2014.

Background

Born in Carrickfergus, Beattie became involved in politics by assisting the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) during elections. She became a party member in the early 1990s,[1] and first stood for election to Carrickfergus Borough Council at the 1993 Northern Ireland local elections.[2]

Although unsuccessful, she was elected for the DUP in East Antrim at the Northern Ireland Forum election in 1996, and sat on the forum's health committee.[3] She gained a seat on Carrickfergus council in 1997, and held this in 2001, 2005 and 2011.[2] She was Mayor of Carrickfergus in 2003–4 and sits on a large number of committees. She is currently an alderman.[4]

Beattie has also been secretary for the DUP's East Antrim branch and for the East Antrim Imperial Association, and was previously a member of the Association of Loyal Orangewomen of Ireland.[1]

In the 2019 Northern Ireland local elections, she unsuccessfully ran as a Traditional Unionist Voice candidate in the Knockagh ward for Mid and East Antrim Borough Council[5]

References

  1. Rachel Ward, Women, unionism and loyalism in Northern Ireland, p.170
  2. http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/lgcarrick.htm "Carrickfergus Borough Council Elections 1993-2011"
  3. "East Antrim", Northern Ireland Elections
  4. "Alderman May Beattie", Carrickfergus Borough Council
  5. Web site: Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll. Deputy Returning Officer, Mid and East Antrim District Council. 8 April 2019.
    - News: Election 2019: District Electoral Area: Knockagh. The Belfast Telegraph. subscription.