Nationalist mayor ‘positive step’
The County Antrim town of Larne is expected to get its first nationalist mayor.
SDLP councillor Danny O’Connor, a Catholic, was born and raised in the predominantly unionist town.
He is expected to be voted in as part of an historic power-sharing deal made at Larne Borough Council last year.
In the past, Mr O’Connor’s home has been attacked by loyalists but he said Larne having a nationalist mayor was “a further step towards normality”.
“We’re not where we used to be. There was a time in Larne when there were a lot of problems - a lot of houses were attacked, but I do believe that we’ve turned a corner,” he said.
“There has been a huge amount of work done by other councillors in the background in trying and make the town more peaceful.
“I just think that this is a further step down that road of normality.”
