Davy Hyland | |
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Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Newry and Armagh |
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In office 26 November 2003 – 7 March 2007 |
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Preceded by | Pat McNamee |
Succeeded by | Mickey Brady |
Personal details | |
Born |
Belfast |
25 February 1955
Political party | Independent Republican (formerly Sinn Féin) |
Alma mater | Aberystwyth University, University of Manchester |
Website | North Antrim Sinn Féin |
Davy Hyland (born 25 February 1955, Belfast) was a MLA and was educated at the University of Wales Aberystwyth and Manchester University. He is a Teacher
He now lives in Newry where he is a former chair of Newry and Mourne District Council and a former Assembly member for Newry and Armagh.
In the mid-1980s, Hyland appeared in court accused of killing former Royal Ulster Constabulary Inspector Albert White but the case collapsed after supergrass Eamon Collins withdrew statements made to police
He was deselected by Sinn Féin before running for the 2007 Assembly election, having received only three votes out of 63 cast by the party membership present at the selection convention. His deselection came amid internal disquiet about moves to discuss the acceptance of the new policing arrangements in Northern Ireland following the establishment of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) as a result of the Patten Commission which was established as part of the ongoing peace process. Hyland stated that: "There are people out there who see this all being choreographed by the Sinn Féin leadership and that it is only a matter of time before the Sinn Féin ard fheis is called and a decision made to back policing arrangements". On 2 February 2007, he announced formally through the Irish News newspaper that he would run in the 2007 Assembly election in Newry and Armagh as an independent republican opposed to Sinn Féin's acceptance of the PSNI. He was backed by other prominent former Sinn Féin figures such as former Assembly members Pat MacNamee and Jim McAllister. Hyland failed to be elected, gaining 2,188 votes (4.4%). He now works as a classroom assistant in the Abbey Grammar School in Newry.