Niall Ó Donnghaile

Niall Ó Donnghaile (born 28 May 1985) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who served as a Senator for the Administrative Panel from 2016 to 2024. He was the Leader of Sinn Féin in the Seanad from June 2020 to January 2024. He previously served as Lord Mayor of Belfast from 2011 to 2012 and a Councillor on Belfast City Council from 2011 to 2016.

Early life and career
Ó Donnghaile was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was educated through Irish at Coláiste Feirste, Belfast, and subsequently obtained a BA in Politics from Ulster University.

A community worker in the Short Strand (the area of East Belfast in which he was born) and a member of the Short Strand Partnership Board, he also works with various other organisations in Belfast on issues such as the developments at Titanic Quarter and Sirocco Quays, and has spoken strongly in support of residents on the issue of the proposed runway extension at Belfast City Airport.

Political career
Ó Donnghaile was a Sinn Féin councillor for the Pottinger district electoral area in East Belfast. He was previously employed as the party's press officer in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Lord Mayor of Belfast
Ó Donnghaile became Lord Mayor of Belfast in June 2011. Aged 25 at the time, he was the city's youngest ever Lord Mayor.

After taking office as Lord Mayor of Belfast, he removed portraits of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Prince Charles from the Mayor's parlour, replacing them with a portrait of the United Irishmen and a copy of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. He kept portraits of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on display. He said he did this to make the parlour "more reflective of Belfast". Unionist councillors demanded that the two royal portraits be put back.

In December 2011, he declined to present an award to a Belfast girl who was a British Army cadet. He explained: "At the last minute I was informed that one of the awards was to be presented to a representative of the Army Cadet Force [...] to avoid any unnecessary sensitivities to either party, it was arranged for the outgoing chairman of the organisation to present some of the certificates alongside me".

Seanad Éireann
Ó Donnghaile was elected to the Seanad in 2016 and re-elected in 2020. In December 2023, he announced that he would resign from the Seanad for health reasons. He resigned on 22 January 2024.