Mr John O’Hara QC is appointed as a High Court Judge
An tUas Máirtín Ó Muilleoir is Lord Mayor of Belfast
BELFAST CITY COUNCIL
HAVE ELECTED AN ALUMNUS OF ST MARY’S CBGS
AS LORD MAYOR
- Ard-Mhéara Bhéal Feirste
Máirtín Ó Muilleoir
Guíonn pobal Scoil Mhuire na mBráithre Críostaí gach rath agus bláth ar iar-scoláire na scoile Máirtín Ó Muilleoir as a cheapachán mar Ard-Mhéara ar Bhéal Feirste. Is iar-bhall de Chumann Gaelach na scoile é Mairtín agus is cinnte go rachaidh a thaithí dhomhanda agus a obair idirnáisiúnta chun tairbhe do mhuintir Bhéal Feirste.
Sinn Féin’s Máirtín Ó Muilleoir left St Mary’s in 1977. Over the past number of years Máirtín has supported the St Mary’s efforts to build a £2m sports development. He organised a breakfast in New York City which was attended by past pupils from across the East Coast of the United States.
Máirtín who is managing director of Belfast Media Group and publisher of the US-based Irish Echo, said he would aim to deliver more jobs and a greater peace dividend for working class communities in Belfast.
He said: “In the year ahead I want the help of all our citizens to make Belfast better. My theme for my year in office will be building the future Belfast together.”
Máirtín was a member of the council for a decade until 1997, before quitting politics to go into business.
The fluent Irish speaker wrote a book, The Dome of Delight, documenting his experiences as a Belfast councillor during the tense 1980s when there were fist fights and bitter exchanges between unionist and nationalist representatives.
Mr Ó’Muilleoir has stepped away from his business interests for the duration of his term as Lord Mayor.
“I will make ‘respect’ my watchword during the year. I will stretch myself,” he added.
Máirtín returned to politics as a representative for Balmoral in south Belfast in 2011 but becoming Lord Mayor was never top of his agenda.
Among his first engagements will be welcoming US president Barack Obama to Belfast ahead of the G8 summit later this month.
Principal Mr Jim Sheerin would like to take this opportunity to wish Máirtín all the best in his new office.
“He is the first past pupil to hold this office and I can think of no more energetic and conscientious person to represent all the citizens of Belfast.”
MR JOHN O’HARA,
ALUMNUS OF ST MARY’S CBGS,
IS APPOINTED AS HIGH COURT JUDGE
- Justice John O’Hara
The judge, Justice O’Hara, was sworn into office before Sir Declan Morgan, the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, on 8 April 2013.
He was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in September 1979 and was also called to the Bar of Ireland in 1996. Mr O’Hara took Silk in 1999.
Mr O’Hara has served on the Bar Council and was elected as Chairman of the Bar Council from 2008 to 2010.
In terms of public appointments, Mr O’Hara served as an Assistant Commissioner to the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland in 1995. This principally involved conducting a public hearing and reporting to the Boundary Commission on proposed changes to Westminster constituency boundaries.
From 2001 to 2002 Mr O’Hara was Chairman of the statutory inquiry, ‘The Human Organs Inquiry’. Mr O’Hara was appointed by the Minister of Health and his role was to investigate and report on the history of organs being retained after post-mortems without the consent or knowledge of family.
In 2004 Mr O’Hara was appointed to chair a second statutory inquiry, the statutory inquiry investigating and reporting on Hyponatraemia-related deaths in Northern Ireland.
In March 2011, at the request of the Bar Council, Mr O’Hara accepted the post of Chairman of the Bar’s new Advocacy Training Board. The principal role of this Board is to continually improve the training of barristers, starting with pupils and including members of the wider Bar.
