Alban Maginness is a Nationalist politician in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

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Maginness was born in Holywood

Holywood

Holywood is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the shore of Belfast Lough, between Belfast and Bangor. Holywood Exchange and Belfast City Airport are nearby. The town hosts an annual jazz and blues festival.-Name:...

, County Down

County Down

-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...

, Northern Ireland. He completed his secondary education at St. Malachy's College

St. Malachy's College

St. Malachy's College is the oldest Roman Catholic grammar school in the province of Ulster, and one of the oldest in Ireland.‎The college was founded in 1833 by Bishop William Crolly, about 50 years after the repeal of the penal laws, which had outlawed, among other things, the celebration of the...

, Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

. He then attended the New University of Ulster and subsequently Queen's University of Belfast

Queen's University of Belfast

Queen's University Belfast is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The university's official title, per its charter, is the Queen's University of Belfast. It is often referred to simply as Queen's, or by the abbreviation QUB...

 where he trained to be a Queen's Counsellor

Queen's Counsel

Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...

. In 1976, he was called to the Northern Ireland Bar and in 1984 to the Bar of Ireland

King's Inns

The Honorable Society of King's Inns , is the institution which controls the entry of barristers-at-law into the justice system of Ireland...

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While at university he became involved in the non-violent protests organised by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association

Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association

The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association was an organisation which campaigned for equal civil rights for the all the people in Northern Ireland during the late 1960s and early 1970s...

. Maginness participated in the famous civil rights march in Derry

Derry

Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...

 in 1972 at which British troops killed 14 unarmed civilians. This event, now termed Bloody Sunday

Bloody Sunday (1972)

Bloody Sunday —sometimes called the Bogside Massacre—was an incident on 30 January 1972 in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland, in which twenty-six unarmed civil rights protesters and bystanders were shot by soldiers of the British Army...

, has gone down in Northern Ireland politics as one of the turning points in The Troubles

The Troubles

The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...

 that contributed to the development of the Provisional IRA.
He has been an elected member of Belfast City Council

Belfast City Council

Belfast City Council is the local authority with responsibility for the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of , the largest of any district council in Northern Ireland, while also being the fourth smallest by area...

 since 1985

Northern Ireland local elections, 1985

Elections for local government were held in Northern Ireland on 15 May 1985.-1981 elections:The previous elections had been fought in the middle of the hunger strike and the H-Block Prison Protest...

 and in 1997 he became the first Nationalist politician to hold the position of Lord Mayor

Lord Mayor

The Lord Mayor is the title of the Mayor of a major city, with special recognition.-Commonwealth of Nations:* In Australia it is a political position. Australian cities with Lord Mayors: Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta, Perth, Sydney, and Wollongong...

 of Belfast. In 1998 he was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly

Northern Ireland Assembly

The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...

 to represent Belfast North

Belfast North

Belfast North can refer to:*The northern part of Belfast.*Belfast North *Belfast North *Belfast North *Belfast North...

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He was Chair of the SDLP from 1984 to 1991.

In November 2008 Maginness had his trademark moustache shaved off for BBC's Children in Need.

Maginness was the SDLP candidate for the 2009 European Election.

External links

• Biography: NI Assembly
• SDLP Councillor Alban Maginness MLA: Official Website
• 2005 SDLP profile