Karen Mullan
Karen Mullan | |
|---|---|
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 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 August 1976 Derry, Northern Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Political party | Sinn Féin |
Karen Mullan MLA (born 18 August 1976) is a former 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. Archived from the original on 8 December 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
- ^ "MLA Mullan named as Sinn Féin's new education spokesperson". Derry Daily. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
- ^ "Karen Mullan". Hillcrest Trust. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. 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.
- ^ a b c Hughes, Brendan (14 June 2017). "Sinn Féin MLA is director of group found to have discriminated against job applicant". The Irish News.