Maurice Devenney
Alderman Maurice Devenney (born 1 January 1959) is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician who served as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Foyle from 2014 to 2015. Devenney succeeded retiring party member William Hay.[2] He resigned in April 2015 to concentrate on his council work.
Maurice Devenney | |
---|---|
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Foyle | |
In office 20 October 2014 – 25 March 2015 | |
Preceded by | William Hay |
Succeeded by | Gary Middleton |
Mayor of Derry | |
In office 2011–2012 | |
Preceded by | Colum Eastwood |
Succeeded by | Kevin Campbell |
Personal details | |
Born | [1] County Donegal, Republic of Ireland | 1 January 1959
Nationality | British |
Political party | Independent Unionist (2016-2019) DUP (2019-present) |
From 2005 to 2014 he was a member of Derry City Council and between 2011 and 2012 he served as Mayor of the city.[3] He was elected to the successor council of Derry and Strabane in 2014.
In February 2016 he resigned from the DUP. A few weeks beforehand, he had been suspended from the party. The suspension was linked to an allegation that Devenney had encouraged DUP voters to instead vote for the SDLP candidate Mark Durkan outside a polling station. Devenney later denied these allegations and claimed they were part of an underlying scheme by the Democratic Unionist Party to withdraw him from the organisation for having opposing political views.[4]
In 2019 he announced that he would return to the DUP and was elected to Derry and Strabane.
References
- "MLA Details: Mr Maurice Devenney". Aims.niassembly.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- "Londonderry DUP councillor Maurice Devenney to replace Hay as MLA - BBC News". Bbc.co.uk. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- John Mulgrew (20 October 2014). "DUP appoints Maurice Devenney as MLA for Foyle: Replacement for ex-Assembly Speaker Willie Hay". Belfasttelegraph. The Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- "DUP: Former MLA Maurice Devenney resigns from party" BBC News 17 February 2016