Hugh News

Hugh News (June 1931 – April 2012) was an Irish nationalist politician.

News grew up in Silverwood, Armagh,[1] and studied at St Colman's College, Newry before working as a pharmacist and publican in Lurgan. In 1964, he was elected to Lurgan Borough Council, serving for three years as a member of the Independent Citizens' Association.[2] He joined the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in the early 1970s, and was elected for the party to Craigavon Borough Council in 1973, holding his seat at each election until he stood down in 1989[3][4]

News was elected in Armagh at the 1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election, and held his seat on the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention in 1975 and at the 1982 Assembly election. At the last two elections, he narrowly beat fellow SDLP member Paddy O'Hanlon for the final seat.[5]

In October 1973, armed men, believed to be loyalist militants, threw a grenade at News' bar, injuring a customer and a barman.[6] He continued to run the pub until his retirement in 1998.[1]

In his spare time, News also served as national vice-president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians through the 1970s.[7]

News died in late April 2012.[1]

References
  1. "Tributes to Hugh". Lurgan Mail. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  2. Ted Nealon, Ireland: a parliamentary directory, 1973–1974, p.188
  3. The Local Government Elections 1973–1981: Craigavon, Northern Ireland Elections
  4. Local Government Elections 1985 – 1989: Craigavon, Northern Ireland Elections
  5. Armagh 1973–1983, Northern Ireland Elections
  6. Richard Deutsch, Northern Ireland 1969–73 a chronology of events, p.351
  7. Sydney Elliott and William D. Flackes, Conflict in Northern Ireland: an Encyclopedia, p.161
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