Election a test for new-look Derry Sinn Fein as it seeks to take top spot in SDLP stronghold belfastlive.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from belfastlive.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Sinn Fein has confirmed it will support the independent unionist Ian Marshall in the forthcoming Irish Seanad by-elections.
Ian Marshall – a former president of the Ulster Farmer’s Union – was previously elected to the Irish Senate in 2018, before losing his seat in the 2020 election. He has been nominated as the preferred candidate for a seat on the Agricultural panel.
The Armagh man was the first unionist elected to the republic s upper chamber in 2018 after he was nominated by then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. Read More
The upcoming by-election for the two vacant seats in the Seanad is due to be held on April 21, with the candidates decided by TDs and Senators in the Irish Dail during a secret ballot.
Frank Mitchell
5. An electronic pop duo from Northern Ireland have muscled their way to two BRIT Award nominations. What do the two Belfast DJs call themselves?
6. An audience of 3,500 will be allowed to attend the Euro-vision Song Contest in May but which country is hosting this year’s extravaganza?
7. Which US pop star admitted that she “cried for weeks through embarrassment” after watching a documentary about her career?
8. It hasn’t been a great year for cinema, but The Oscars will go ahead. Which film received the most nominations (10) across the categories for the 2021 awards?
9. The school featured in Lisa McGee’s hit TV comedy Derry Girls is based on which real life school in her native Derry?
A former member of the Seanad from Northern Ireland could thwart a voting pact between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael in two forthcoming by-elections after claiming that TDs and senators from both parties have privately promised him their votes.