Frank McCoubrey (born 5 February 1967) is a Unionist politician and loyalist in

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 ...

, as well as a community activist and researcher. He is a leading member of the

Ulster Political Research Group The Ulster Political Research Group is an advisory body connected to the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), providing advice to them on political matters. The group was permanently founded in January 2002, and is largely a successor to the Ulster ...

(UPRG) and a member of

Belfast City Council 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 ...

, representing the Court area as a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) councillor. McCoubrey is a native of

Highfield, Belfast Court is one of the ten district electoral areas (DEA) in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Located in the north and west of the city, the district elects six members to Belfast City Council and contains the wards of Ballygomartin, Clonard, Falls, Forth ...

Emergence in UPRG

In 1996 he was an unsuccessful candidate in the

Northern Ireland Forum The Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue was a body set up in 1996 as part of a process of negotiations that eventually led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The forum was elected, with five members being elected for each Westmin ...

election in West Belfast. McCoubrey was first elected to

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as a member of the

Ulster Democratic Party The Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) was a small loyalist political party in Northern Ireland. It was established in June 1981 as the Ulster Loyalist Democratic Party by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), to replace the New Ulster Political Res ...

and was eventually elected as deputy mayor in 2000, with the votes of the Democratic Unionist Party and

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 ...

councillors. Following the collapse of the UDP and the resulting decision of the

Ulster Defence Association The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and undertook an armed campaign of almost 24 years as one of t ...

(UDA) to reconvene the UPRG McCoubrey was chosen along with

Sammy Duddy Andrew Samuel Duddy (25 August 1945 – 17 October 2007), known as Sammy, was a Northern Irish loyalist, having joined the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) shortly after its formation in 1971. He later became a leading member of the Ulster Poli ...

, Frankie Gallagher and

Tommy Kirkham Tommy Kirkham is a Northern Ireland loyalist political figure and former councillor. Beginning his political career with the Democratic Unionist Party, he was then associated with the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and the Ulster Political Res ...

to lead the new group. McCoubrey became one of the leading figures in the UPRG and even joined Kirkham and Gallagher in meeting Irish

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...

in 2004, along with UDA leader Jackie McDonald and prisoners' spokesman Stanley Fletcher in a 'historic' event. In his role as a councillor McCoubrey opened early channels between loyalism and

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

, joining UDP colleague John White in holding an unofficial meeting with

Alex Maskey Alex Maskey (born 8 January 1952) is an Irish politician who has been Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly since 2020 and was the first member of Sinn Féin to serve as Lord Mayor of Belfast from 2002 to 2003. He was Sinn Féin's longest s ...

Belfast City Hall Belfast City Hall ( ga, Halla na Cathrach Bhéal Feirste; Ulster-Scots: ''Bilfawst Citie Haw'') is the civic building of Belfast City Council located in Donegall Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It faces North and effectively divides the comm ...

in June 2001. McCoubrey also led a campaign in 2003 to bring

Gerry Adams Gerard Adams ( ga, Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh; born 6 October 1948) is an Irish republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020. ...

to trial for violation of the human rights of the people of the Shankill. McCoubrey, who organised a petition to this effect, argued that Adams' and Sinn Féin's policy of

abstentionism Abstentionism is standing for election to a deliberative assembly while refusing to take up any seats won or otherwise participate in the assembly's business. Abstentionism differs from an election boycott in that abstentionists participate in ...

meant that the people of the Shankill were being denied representation and sought to bring a case to the European courts to alter the situation. Ultimately, however, nothing came of the initiative.

Loyalist Day of Culture controversy

McCoubrey's term of office as deputy mayor was soon marked by controversy after he wore his official robes and chain of office to a "Loyalist Day of Culture" held on the Lower Shankill on 19 August 2000, where he shared a stage with UDA members

Johnny Adair John Adair (born 27 October 1963), better known as Johnny Adair or Mad Dog Adair, is an Ulster loyalist and the former leader of the "C Company", 2nd Battalion Shankill Road, West Belfast Brigade of the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF). This was a ...

and Michael Stone at the height of a

loyalist feud A loyalist feud refers to any of the sporadic feuds which have erupted almost routinely between Northern Ireland's various loyalist paramilitary groups during and after the ethno-political conflict known as the Troubles broke out in 1969. The ...

between that group and the

Ulster Volunteer Force The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British Army soldier from Northern Ireland. The group undertook an armed campaign ...

. Adair had used the Day to bring the feud to its conclusion by running the

out of the Shankill by attacking their stronghold, the Rex Bar.McDonald & Cusack, op cit, p. 327-328 Calls were made for McCoubrey to resign, although he claimed that he did not know Adair and Stone would be there and that he was not expecting the gun-fire in the paramilitary show of strength that ended the night. Ultimately the Council decided not to take any action against McCoubrey, with a motion of censure brought in by the

Alliance Party of Northern Ireland The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), or simply Alliance, is a liberal and centrist political party in Northern Ireland. As of the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, it is the third-largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembl ...

David Alderdice David King Alderdice OBE MA (Oxon) FRCPI is a former Lord Mayor of Belfast and senior member of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland. Early life and personal Born into a Presbyterian manse, Alderdice was educated at Ballymena Academy. Hi ...

defeated in the council. McCoubrey also faced criticism from a former

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 ...

Hugh Smyth Hugh Smyth, OBE (1941 – 12 May 2014) was a Northern Irish politician who was leader of the Progressive Unionist Party. He was a former Lord Mayor of Belfast as well as the longest serving member of Belfast City Council, having represented t ...

, who had been a friend of his until the incident, with a number of Smyth's colleagues in the

Progressive Unionist Party The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) is a minor unionist political party in Northern Ireland. It was formed from the Independent Unionist Group operating in the Shankill area of Belfast, becoming the PUP in 1979. Linked to the Ulster Volunte ...

amongst those ran out of the Shankill by Adair and 'C' Company.

Subsequent activity

McCoubrey remains a member of the Council. He officially sat as an Independent, as do all elected members of the

UPRG The Ulster Political Research Group is an advisory body connected to the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), providing advice to them on political matters. The group was permanently founded in January 2002, and is largely a successor to the Ulster ...

. However, in November 2012 it was announced that McCoubrey was giving up his independent status to become a member of the DUP. McCoubrey remains a prominent community activist in the Shankill, working to secure increased funding for the Shankill district, which was named in 2008 as Northern Ireland's most deprived area. In December 2008, McCoubrey was nominated by Bob Stoker for the post of

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 was sworn into office on 21 January 2009. Subsequently he successfully defended his council seat in the 2011 local elections. He retained his seat for the DUP in

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and was also the party's unsuccessful candidate for West Belfast in the 2015 general election and the 2016 Assembly election (also in Belfast West), where he came within 90 votes of winning the first seat for a Unionist party in 13 years. In 2020, McCoubrey was appointed

replacing Sinn Fein's Daniel Baker. Due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic the traditional handover was replaced with a smaller meeting in front of 18 of the 60 Belfast councillors inside the chamber at City Hall. McCoubrey is a member of the board of directors of the ''Shankill Mirror'', a newspaper aimed at the loyalist communities of the

Greater Shankill The Shankill Road () is one of the main roads leading through West Belfast, in Northern Ireland. It runs through the working-class, predominantly loyalist, area known as the Shankill. The road stretches westwards for about from central Belfast ...

and North Belfast.''Shankill Mirror'', No. 171, May 2011, p. 8

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCoubrey, Frank 1967 births Living people High Sheriffs of Belfast Independent politicians in Northern Ireland Members of Belfast City Council Ulster Democratic Party politicians Democratic Unionist Party councillors