Karen Mullan

Karen Mullan
MLA
Karen Mullan MLA
	Karen Mullan at Stormont
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Foyle;
	In office; 20 June 2017 – 13 September 2021
Preceded by	Elisha McCallion
Succeeded by	Pádraig Delargy ; Ciara Ferguson
Personal details
Born	18 August 1976; Derry, Northern Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Political party	Sinn Féin

Karen Mullan MLA (born 18 August 1976) is a Sinn Féin politician from Derry, Northern Ireland who served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Foyle constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly from June 2017 to 2021.[1]

History

Mullan served as a community worker in Derry prior to her co-option by Sinn Féin.[2] She was co-opted after Foyle MLA Elisha McCallion was elected to the House of Commons following the 2017 general election. Mullan was Sinn Féin's northern education spokesperson in the assembly.[3]

She is a graduate of Ulster University with a degree in community development, and is a former manager of Hillcrest Trust, a community centre in the Waterside area of Derry.[4]

She played a key role in setting up a charity, Pink Ladies Cancer Support Group, which lobbied for the delivery of the North-West Cancer Centre at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry.[5]

She left the assembly with Martina Anderson on 13 September 2021 being replaced by Pádraig Delargy and Ciara Ferguson.[6]

Controversy

Mullan is also a director of Waterside Neighbourhood Partnership, which is a community group based in Derry. The organisation was found guilty in 2017 of having unlawfully discriminated against a job applicant based on political opinion.[7] The organisation was ordered to pay £11,000 to the applicant, who was the highest-scoring candidate in the interviews.[7] Giving evidence at the tribunal, Mullan revealed during cross-examination that an interview panellist informed her that they "had been bullied" into giving a better score. The tribunal said Mullan's evidence "lacked credibility".[7]

References

Madden, Andrew (12 June 2017). "Sinn Féin co-opt new MLAs in Foyle and West Tyrone". The Irish News.
Now, Derry. "New Foyle MLA Karen Mullan has celebrated her first day at Stormont". Derry Now.
"MLA Mullan named as Sinn Féin's new education spokesperson". Derry Daily. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
"Karen Mullan". Hillcrest Trust. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
"Pink Ladies branch out". Sentinel. 27 October 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
"Sinn Féin selects Pádraig Delargy and Ciara Ferguson as new Foyle MLAs". BBC News. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
Hughes, Brendan (14 June 2017). "Sinn Féin MLA is director of group found to have discriminated against job applicant". The Irish News.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] Madden, Andrew (12 June 2017). "Sinn Féin co-opt new MLAs in Foyle and West Tyrone". The Irish News.

[2] Now, Derry. "New Foyle MLA Karen Mullan has celebrated her first day at Stormont". Derry Now.

[3] "MLA Mullan named as Sinn Féin's new education spokesperson". Derry Daily. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2017.

[4] "Karen Mullan". Hillcrest Trust. Retrieved 20 November 2017.

[5] "Pink Ladies branch out". Sentinel. 27 October 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2017.

[6] "Sinn Féin selects Pádraig Delargy and Ciara Ferguson as new Foyle MLAs". BBC News. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.

[discrimination-7] Hughes, Brendan (14 June 2017). "Sinn Féin MLA is director of group found to have discriminated against job applicant". The Irish News.