INAUGURAL SPEECH Grace Uí Niallais
MAYOR OF DERRY & STRABANE DISTRICT COUNCIL
01 June 2026
I want to begin by thanking the outgoing Mayor, my party colleague Ruairí McHugh and of course the Deputy Mayor Niree McMorris and to congratulate you both on a fantastic year in office. Your hard work and dedication to the role shone through and you have definitely left me with big shoes to fill in the coming year.
I feel very privileged to now be taking on the mantle and I hope to emulate the positivity and the energy that you brought to the role over the last 12 months.
I also want to thank my party colleagues in the chamber tonight who have placed their trust and confidence in me. As a regular attender of the imposter syndrome club, I’ll trust your judgement and do my best. I look forward to meeting all Councillors and Aldermen in their own DEAs as I travel throughout the district during the year.
I would like to thank the people of Foyleside for putting their trust in me and allowing me to represent them. It is truly my honour to assist you and to listen to your issues. It’s a privilege to work alongside members of the Pól Kinsella Cumann to stand up for the people of Foyleside and ensure your voice is heard in this chamber and further afield.
And of course to my family. To my husband, Aidan, whose support has and will be paramount to me as I take on this role. Thank you for always being by my side, for being there to bounce ideas off and for making me a cup of tea every morning in bed. Aidan, you are the true definition of a co-parent and it is with this in mind that I can take on this role with ease knowing that our kids will be fed, washed, dressed and supported every day. That being said, if you do see him on the street looking overwhelmed, make sure and stop to give him a hug and a few words of support!
To my children, Anna, Lorcán and Faolán, before anything, I am your mummy and this is OUR family’s adventure. I can’t wait to come home and tell you all of the craic and for you to take part in events with me. I am beyond proud of you three, of your wee special ways, of your kind hearts and I am doing this for you to show you that you can be anything you want to be. You and your wee friends and cousins who sit with you here tonight are the future and I am so so proud to show you that this beautiful building belongs to all of you and if you want when you’re older, you can help to shape where you live too.
To my wee mummy, I am so proud to give you this honour and I can just hear you when you tell people that your daughter is the Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council! You are the definition of a lady and I am very lucky to have inherited some of your traits. You taught me how to be kind, compassionate and respectful to everyone and have always been the voice of calming reason. A former midwife, who delivered half of Randalstown and a mother of seven, life hasn’t always been easy, but you have nurtured five strong women and two gentlemen. We are all blessed to have you and thank you for being the queen of our house.
To my dad, who is no longer with us. He would’ve been hard to listen to telling people that I am the Mayor. A man who followed the news from morning to night on teletext, he was fascinated by politics, but with one tv in the house, you can imagine how his seven children felt. You were gone before I was elected and now this too. I hope that wherever your spirit is, that my taking the Mayoral chains this evening makes you proud. I’m sure growing up in 1950s Omagh where your house of 11 only had one vote and opportunities were few and poverty was high, that today would’ve been unimaginable.
To my siblings, my mother and father -in law and my Nelis family - thank you for being here tonight and for your support. What a team my wee family has around them! I am looking forward to having you all at my celebrations as the year takes shape. We always held a great family wedding, so let’s enjoy the nights to come.
A special mention to my friends and family friends who have came here tonight to share in this moment with us. You are all an inspiration to me in your own way and it is truly my honour to host you here.
I have been a Councillor now in the Foyleside DEA since May 2023 and in my three years, I have been very proud to see the confirmation of two community centres and one play-park in my area. These assets will greatly improve the lives of my constituents, and to have promised delivery in 2023 when canvassing the doors, I am proud to know that this delivery will happen.
I am unwavering in my support of Community Wealth Building and was delighted to receive unanimous support when I brought a motion through Council to strengthen Council’s stance on recognising Community Wealth Building as an economic driver. I will continue to use my voice in every room to ensure that where money can stay local and support the lives of our communities, it will.
As a gaeilgeoir, I was proud to see our bilingual signage policy be approved. Our little country and it’s place names possess an enormous wealth of heritage which, if not protected, will be at risk. I will continue throughout my year to not only support my language, but to promote heritage, arts and culture as a core to who we are and to why the North West is a hidden gem.
As I take on the role of Mayor, I do so at an exciting time for this council as we continue to take forward an unprecedented capital spending plan that will see game-changing investments over the coming years including state of the art sports and leisure facilities at Riversdale and Templemore as well as the massive opportunities that now exist through the City and Growth Deals.
I very much look forward to continuing that work and driving forward the plans which will be transformative in terms of regeneration, creating good jobs and unleashing our full economic potential.
And while those plans are a huge achievement and a testament to the hard work of everyone in this chamber, plus the partnership of elected representatives and council officers, we still continue to face huge challenges as a council. The Labour government in Westminster has failed to reverse the disastrous austerity agenda of its Tory predecessor and here in the North, our public services, including our local authorities, continue to suffer as a result. We can do so much better.
I am an Irish republican and I will continue to advocate for a new Ireland and to make the case for a better way forward. A better way for our public services. For our politics. And for our people. As I do so, I recognise and respect that many of our citizens have different aspirations. I intend to be a Mayor for All. I passionately believe in parity of esteem. Those who believe in the Union with Britain , those who cherish their British identity, those who see themselves as neither British or Irish are all welcome here and all have the right to have their aspirations respected. We have much more to unite us than divide us and I am determined to work positively to build reconciliation, respect and prosperity in this society.
I also want to take a moment to reiterate the importance of political leaders speaking out against injustice and I am very proud that this council has repeatedly stood in solidarity with the people of Palestine. We must continue to do so. We must continue to demand peace and justice for the Palestinian people. An end to the genocide, an end to apartheid and an end to the occupation.
At the beginning of their term, many of those who have had the honour to take up this role have outlined their main focus for the year ahead. I will be no different and it is my clear intention to use the Mayoralty as a platform to speak out on the need for definitive action on ending violence against women and girls.
There has already been too much heartbreak in this city, too much tragedy and too many women robbed of their futures by the violence of men. We as a society need to confront this violence and to challenge the everyday misogyny that enables it. We need to promote healthy and respectful relationships to our young people.
I welcome the Executive’s Strategic Framework to End Violence Against Women and Girls as a welcome step which aims to provide better services for women and girls who have experienced abuse, and to support local organisations to deliver training and awareness-building for ending violence against women and girls. But this strategy must be supplemented by a societal shift which supports victims and survivors, deters perpetrators and finally eradicates the threat of violence which many women live with every day of their lives.
This is a responsibility for us all, particularly those of us in positions of influence and leadership. We need to use that influence to help bring about societal change, to demonstrate there can be no tolerance for misogyny or sexism and in so doing we can help ensure this city never again mourns the loss of women and girls cut down by the violence of men.
As you know, each Mayor nominates Charities to fundraise for throughout their year.
On 8th March 2021, International Women’s Day, I lost one of the strongest and most inspiring women I’ve ever known - my childhood best friend, Eleanor. Eleanor was 36 and a mother to 5 year old Penny who she was so so proud of and just loved to bits. This was the second time that Eleanor had had cancer in her short life.
My biggest heartbreak was that Eleanor had cancer and subsequently died during Covid and visiting was next to none. I sat as one of 25 people allowed at her funeral. She deserved more than that as a woman with the kindest heart. A nurse, who trained at Magee and loved Derry, Eleanor spent a year volunteering in Africa before she married. I can’t even do her character justice in this short time, but what I do want to do is spend this year raising as much money as I can in her honour. It is for this reason that I have chosen Hive Cancer Support as my Mayor’s charity - for the work that they do empowering and supporting people at all stages of their cancer journey.
Hive Cancer Support work in various locations in the North West, offering workshops and awareness information events helping to recognise the importance of early detection and prevention. They offer support groups, one on one counselling and support cancer thrivers and their families. Hive have a wonderful choir made up of people and their families affected by cancer and they have very kindly joined us tonight to sing us a few songs after the AGM. I hope that it lifts you up and instils in you the hope that Hive Cancer Support represents.
I know that Eleanor would approve and will be smiling down on us as we begin our fundraising year.
As I wrap up, I would like to thank the council staff for all of their hard-work and dedication and to the guildhall staff for always going above and beyond. You are a credit to our Council. I look forward to working with all of you in the year ahead and good luck to you all in your new committees and roles.