The Rt Hon. Sir Crawford McCullagh, 1st Baronet (1868 (Aghalee, Co. Antrim) – 13 April 1948), was a Unionist

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. McCullagh started his career as an apprentice at the age of 14 in the drapery trade. He then became the director of several businesses in Belfast, including Maguire and Patterson, a dry goods firm (Vespa matches), and the Classic Cinema at Castle Place, as well as owning McCullagh and Co., a silk mercers, milliners and fancy drapery store taken over by Styles and Mantles in 1927. He was elected to

Belfast Corporation Belfast City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhéal Feirste) is the local authority with responsibility for part of the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of (), the l ...

for the Irish Unionist Party. In 1911, he was the

High Sheriff of Belfast The High Sheriff of Belfast is a title and position which was created in 1900 under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, with Sir James Henderson the first holder. Like other high sheriff positions, it is largely a ceremonial post today. The ...

, and from 1914 to 1917

Lord Mayor of Belfast The Lord Mayor of Belfast is the leader and chairperson of Belfast City Council, elected annually from and by the City's 60 Councillors#UnitedKingdom, councillors. The Lord Mayor also serves as the representative of the city of Belfast, welcomin ...

. McCullagh was not the pioneer of the 'Two Minutes Silence', as Newtownabbey author Bob Armstrong claimed in his publication ''Through The Ages To Newtownabbey''. According to ''

The Belfast Telegraph The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media. Its editor is Eoin Brannigan. Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been "favoured by the Protestant pop ...

'' at the time Sir Crawford called for a 'Five Minutes Silence' on 11 July 1916, following receiving news of the death of thousands of soldiers from the 36th (Ulster) Division at the Somme. However, significantly, he was the first recorded person to publicly call for a period of silence for fallen soldiers. McCullagh was knighted on 19 May 1915, and created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

on 1 July 1935. At the 1921 Northern Ireland general election, he was elected for Belfast South for the

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule m ...

. He lost his seat at the 1925 general election, when he took only 4% of the first preference votes. From 1931 until 1942, McCullagh was again Lord Mayor of Belfast, which now entitled him to a seat in the

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. He was Deputy Speaker from 1939 to 1941. In 1938 he negotiated with Lord Shaftesbury a donation to the city of

Belfast Castle Belfast Castle (Irish: ''Caisleán Bhéal Feirste''Ireland Highlights: Belfast Castle. https://www.irelandhighlights.com/info/belfast-castle/ ) is a mansion located in Cave Hill Country Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in a prominent positio ...

and its demesne of bordering on Hazelwood and Bellevue pleasure grounds. He also opened the Floral Hall. In 1941, he was appointed to the

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. From 1943 until 1946, he served a final term as Lord Mayor. Sir Crawford's elegant mansion, ''Lismarra'', at Whitehouse, north of Belfast, was designed by Sir Charles Lanyon, It was later rename
Abbeydene
following his death. It is currently being utilised as an exclusive guest house. He was married twice, first in 1890 to Minnie McCully and then in 1897 to Margaret Brodie. McCullagh's son, Sir Joseph Crawford McCullagh (2nd Baronet of Lismara) (1907–1974), was probably the foremost authority on ornithology in Northern Ireland in the years preceding his death. He was Patron of the Northern Ireland Ornithologists' Club. He later built a house adjacent to his family home in the townland of White Abbey and took the 'Lismarra' name. The house still remains today. McCullagh also had two daughters, Helen and Daisy. His great-granddaughter Susan Cunningham has published his biography called ''Sir Crawford McCullagh - Belfast’s Dick Whittington''.

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