An aide to Michelle O’Neill is to relinquish her seat on Belfast City Council some eight months after being appointed a special adviser in the Executive Office.
Sinn Féin notified the council on Monday that Clíodhna Nic Bhranair would be replaced by Siobhán McCallin, a former primary school teacher from west Belfast.
Ms Nic Bhranair was among four Sinn Féin representatives elected in the Colin DEA in 2023.
She was appointed as a special adviser to the first minister in May following the departure of Stephen McGlade, at the time Ms O’Neill’s most senior aide. She had previously worked as business development manager at the James Connolly Visitor Centre on the Falls Road.
Mr McGlade joined Sinn Féin’s Dublin staff as a strategist in leader Mary Lou McDonald’s team.
Ms Nic Bhranair joined John Loughran and Ronan McGinley as special advisers in the Executive Office.
DUP Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly currently has two aides – Ashleigh Perry and former MLA Alastair Ross – with the third position unfilled since the restoration of the institutions last February.
Salaries for the roles range between £65,000-£85,000.
Newly co-opted Ms McCallin was medically retired from her teaching job in 2016 after contracting sepsis.
The mother-of-four has since become a sepsis awareness campaigner and has published her own poetry collection.
She praised her predecessor on the council, who according to Sinn Féin, is stepping down from her elected role to “focus her efforts entirely on her role as special adviser in supporting the important work of the first minister”.
“Clíodhna has been a fantastic representative for the people of the Colin, working hard to deliver on the issues that matter to them,” Ms McCallin said.
“I am excited to begin this new role and look forward to working with councillors from across the city to drive transformative change for workers, families and communities.”
In post on X, Ms Nic Bhranair said: “Siobhán will be an excellent councillor working on behalf of the families, workers and communities of the area.”
