The community sector are getting hit with huge cuts later this week from the UK Govt. Jobs will be lost. Services will come to an end. Orgs will be battling for scraps. Increased pressure will follow. Politicians shifting blame about for political point scoring serves no one.

Bizarre, instead of expanding free parking why don’t they invest more in active travel and public transport? SDLP tried to put this forward at Council and no one else would support it. www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/free-pa...

Listening to GMU and the SDLP stating that recent decisions on pitches was Alliance calling a referendum on GAA. This was never about GAA for us, this was about removing the biggest music venue without an alternative. But don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story, eh?

Update on Boucher Road: Cllrs backed our calls to defer ceasing events at Boucher Road until we get the reports on: •Alternative site options •Hybrid option on the site •Support for local residents through licensing •Economic impact •Enhanced support for the music industry

I’ll be putting forward that we delay plans to close Boucher Road as an event venue, until we have an alternative plan on where these events can be held. This decision is short sighted and we need to take a moment to think this through.

Andy Burnham being blocked by Labour’s NEC from contesting the Gorton and Denton by-election will be seen as Starmer running scared, not their ability to afford an mayoral by-election. Short sighted. Andy may be Labours last hope at a revival before the next GE.

Received agreement at committee this afternoon to go out to consultation with residents of Prince Andrew Park and Prince Andrew Gardens to rename the streets. Council will begin engagement with those residents regarding the possible renaming, following approval at full Council.

Bizarrely, the SDLP put forward at committee this evening that we stop fining people who don’t pay for parking in BCC car parks on St Patrick’s Day. The reasoning - DfI don’t fine people who don’t pay for parking on St Patrick’s Day. Not a dept we should be following the examples of.

Lord Mayor @micky-murray.bsky.social welcomes participants to the city of Belfast: “I'm delighted to say that our city welcomes people. We are delighted to have trade union activist leaders from all across Europe here with us in Belfast today.”

Kudos to Belfast City Council & @allianceparty.bsky.social councillor, Lord Mayor @micky-murray.bsky.social , for supporting @equityuk.bsky.social Safe Home campaign for post-show performers and stage management. My @britishtheatreguide.info news story: www.britishtheatreguide.info/news/belfast...

Enjoyed spending a little time with Lord Mayor @micky-murray.bsky.social this morning, courtesy of Young at Art as part of Belfast Children’s Festival. Micky has been an inclusive, community-focused Lord Mayor for our city over his short tenure, representative of NI’s younger generations. Progress.

Our tourism industry really are incredible! This morning I had the pleasure of speaking at the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism seminar at Titanic Belfast, which is focused on further breaking down barriers and promoting Belfast as a city of accessible tourism.

Early on in my term I met w/ Minority Recognition Awards & discussed a platform for ethnic minority professionals coming to NI to make the transition easier & help build connections. Today, we launched the Minorities Business Network NI platform which will do just that! mbnni.com

I proudly led the Belfast Pride march last year, as the first openly gay Lord Mayor of Belfast. I’m a seasoned rights campaigner, who has been at the forefront of every campaign. No one, will dictate to me whether I can or can’t march in a pride march.

No matter how many people I mute or block on Twitter my entire feed is pro-trump propaganda 🙄

Out on Stockmans Lane today w/ Cllr Tara Brooks & some local activists. I secured the social value fee paid by promoters using Boucher Rd being ring fenced for use in the local area, and it was great to hear from residents today on how they would like this used to benefit the community.

Spent my afternoon at Girdwood Community Hub for the @politicsinaction.bsky.social conference on the Democracy: threats and opportunities.

This morning I opened the 4 Corners Festival, focused on celebrating those who are working towards building a more inclusive, peaceful Belfast. We hosted individuals from a range of organisations as part of todays event to allow for networking and collaborative working.

There are some rest great moments in this job, but being able to return to Anna House today to help celebrate Dorothy’s 100th birthday is definitely up there!

This morning I spoke at our networking event in City Hall for our Violence Against Women and Girls Local Action Fund. Great to see soo many orgs attending to hear more about the fund and how to apply. For more info visit belfastcity.gov.uk/endviolence

Today I joined Youth Lyric to get a glimpse of their rehearsals for their upcoming production of Alice in Wonderland. Such unbelievable talent in this group of young people, I’m really excited to see the entire production in March!!

Great to catch up with James Applegate and Dori Winters, the US Consul General and deputy Consul General in Belfast today.

Great morning at the launch of the Belfast Children’s Festival, there’s soo many incredible events to look forward to for the whole family. The festival runs from 6th - 15th March, and you can check out their programme at youngatart.Co.uk

Today marks a significant step forward in securing the future of Harland and Wolff, as Navantia announce their acquisition and investment. I had the pleasure of joining staff at Harland and Wolff this morning to talk about the importance of ship building in our city’s history and our future.

When we partnered up with PBNI to help bring Annadale Allotments back to its former glory I don’t think anyone could have imagined the transformation. Through their work they’ve opened up more allotment space and transformed the space, so impressed with all their work! Thank you!

Today, as we remember those who died at the hands of the Nazi’s I laid flowered to remember all those LGBTQIA+ people who were detained in concentration camps, and later moved to state prisons after they were closed down. We must do everything within our influence to prevent hate spreading.

Great to catch up w/ former NYC Nightlife Mayor Ariel Palitz on her visit to Belfast. We discussed the importance of having govt buy in on issues relating to the night time economy, and the role of the night time economy in addressing gender based violence.

#StormÉowym Bins due for collection today will be collected tomorrow, if your street is missed these should be collected on Sunday. Council venues remain closed today. All bus and rail services have been suspended until the red weather warning is lifted. Some numbers should you need them ⬇️

My red weather warning alert just come through on my watch, nearly six hours later, and could have woken the entire street!

#StormÉowyn No bin collections will take place tomorrow (Fri 24th). No new date for these collections just yet. Buses and trains also cancelled in the morning - this will be reviewed by Translink throughout the day. Check the website for more info - belfastcity.gov.uk/weather

Started my day opening the SQC Digital Belfast 2025: Shaping a Prosperous Future event. Belfast is doing great on a number of fronts from tourism to cybersecurity, and through collaboration between public and private sectors we can continue grow and improve.

Yesterday a had a visit to Anaka Women’s Collective to meet with the women, hear their stories, and learn about all the great work they’re doing supporting refugees and asylum seekers.

Today I’ve launched our Local Change Fund, which will provide £250k to Belfast based groups for individual projects working to change the attitudes, behaviours and cultures that cause violence against women and girls. www.belfastcity.gov.uk/News/%C2%A32...

I had the loveliest group of young people from Rotary in City Hall this morning as part of their leadership programme. We had such a great conversation from local issues and political leadership to climate change and violence against women and girls.

If your organisation needs a Consultant Director, support with strategic planning or a project evaluation please get in touch. Find out more at www.mboydcc.com

Speaking with UTV today at Giants Park in North Belfast. This is a £100m redevelopment, starting with a new adventure park and nature sanctuary, taking reclaimed and unused land and repurposing it to deliver this new development. Great to see this important project coming together.

This evening my friend @fionamcateer.bsky.social was sworn in as the High Sheriff of Belfast, joining the chain gang! I had the honour of presenting Fiona with the chain, surrounded by her family and friends, and I’m really looking forward to working with her in our civic roles this year.

Opening day at the new Holland and Barrett on Donegall Place in Belfast City Centre. Great to see the revitalisation of our high street over the past year with so many units on Donegall Place and Royal Avenue reopening and bringing once vacant units back to life.

The £6.5m redevelopment of Strand Arts Centre is underway! This historic building has played a huge part of so many peoples lives over the years and it’s great to see it getting the investment it deserves to continue to thrive. ow.ly/pAke50UFRJr

Last week I hosted groups of students from two of our sister cities, Nashville & Boston, who are in Belfast on study visits. Sister city links open up ops for students, creatives, businesses, & civic collaborations between cities through relationships built between Councils.

Be careful out there, there’s lots of black ice about. I’ve gritted the pavements around Finaghy crossroads this afternoon, following concerns from a local resident. It’s not perfect, but should prevent any falls. Thanks to Coffey’s butchers for a lend of a shovel!

This is great news, and a step forward for trans inclusive healthcare! The guidelines also directly push back against claims in the U.K. Cass Review that puberty blockers affect cognition, revealing that they have “no negative effect”. www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/12/new-...

What a way to start the year, unveiling the Rory Gallagher statue at Ulster Hall. Born in Ballyshannon, raised in Cork, and matured in Belfast, Rory left such a legacy in the music industry. Great to be joined by his nephews Eoin and Daniel, and Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Dan Boyle.

Grateful to Kate Nash for coming to meet w/ me to discuss the cost of touring crisis that many in the industry are facing. We had a great conversation w/ reps from Council & @sianalliance.bsky.social and also visited Oh Yeah Music Centre to meet w/ the team & hear about all their amazing work.

This morning I called out to St Anne’s Cathedral to give the first donation to the Black Santa Appeal on behalf of the City of Belfast.

Today I brought @fleuranderson.bsky.social on a tour of the Christmas Market at Belfast City Hall. I took the opportunity to talk w/ her about various issues, inc the need to get clinical trials for puberty blockers up and running asap, we’re going to meet again in Jan to discuss further.

A really important intervention by @sorchaeastwood.bsky.social in Westminster, our community and voluntary sector would come under further immense financial pressure if they aren’t protected.

Lagan Valley Regional Park volunteer Christmas celebrations today! The regional park team are great, the work they do promoting and protecting biodiversity and conservation is so incredibly important. I’m really proud to support them as a board member and a local cllr.

Did you know that you can now take part in #Hyrox classes at our City Centre Better Gym with no additional cost on top of your membership? I was invited down this afternoon to try it out, and while it’s a tough one, I think I really enjoyed it!

Obligatory Lord Mayor selfie. Thanks to @micky-murray.bsky.social for coming along to Clifton House’s annual Benn dinner. A tradition that’s been going on for 142 years!