Conall McDevitt

Conall McDevitt, M.L.A. (born: 1 June 1972), became National Secretary of Labour Youth (Ireland) in 1993 and Vice President of ECOSY (European Community Organisation of Socialist Youth) in 1994. The son of an Official IRA internee and a great-grandson of a Belfast republican socialist, Danny McDevitt, he became the Social Democratic and Labour Party's (SDLP) Director of Communications in November 1996 until December 1999.

He was involved in the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement. During the talks McDevitt acted as spokesperson for John Hume and Seamus Mallon. He left the SDLP to work as customer relations manager of Viridian Group PLC, then owners of Northern Ireland Electricity (N.I.E.), the monopoly electricity supplier in Northern Ireland.

Following the establishment of the power sharing Executive, McDevitt served as Special Adviser to the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Bríd Rodgers. He was involved in the attempts to resolve the standoff at Drumcree and advised Rodgers during the 2002 Foot and Mouth crisis in Northern Ireland when she received acclaim for her efforts.

Managing Director of Weber Shandwick in Northern Ireland since 2007 and Chairperson of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, he has won several PRCA, CIPR Pride CIPR Excellence Awards for his consultancy work. He was selected as the new SDLP MLA for South Belfast on 9 December 2009 and succeeded Carmel Hanna in the Northern Ireland Assembly in early 2010.^[1]

Personal life

Born in Dublin, Ireland, but brought up in Malaga, Andalusia, Spain, McDevitt was educated at the Instituto Bachillerato Mixto, Fuengirola. He lectures occasionally on public affairs and public relations. His blog was a source of commentary on economic and political issues in Ireland.

References

1. ^ Jim Fitzpatrick "Stormont new faces bring fresh perspectives", BBC News