Former UUP councillor Robert Mulligan ‘set high standards’

Robert (Bob) Mulligan from Augher was a former mayor of Dungannon and a former chairman of the South Tyrone Association.

He passed away on Thursday at his home on Augher’s Glenhoy Road.

Rosemary Barton MLA said: “Robert represented the Clogher Valley district on Dungannon and latterly Mid Ulster Council for a total of 26 years. He was a real gentleman, who took great pride in representing the community in which he lived. He gave of his time very generously and was a dedicated representative who served as Mayor in Dungannon District Council on three separate occasions.

“I had the pleasure of working with Bob, as he was affectionately known, on numerous occasions; he had an encyclopaedic memory and was a font of knowledge, which was allied to the ability to get an issue sorted in a fair and equitable manner.

“His continued interest in the work of the council after he retired is testament to how much he enjoyed his time in local government. When meeting any of the councillors socially after his retirement, he was always keen to learn of the latest news from Council.

“Whilst he will be greatly missed by his former colleagues in the Ulster Unionist Party, it is in how own home where the loss will be most keenly felt. I wish to extend my sincere condolences to his wife Eleanor, his sons, daughters and grandchildren.”

Walter Cuddy, Ulster Unionist group leader on Mid Ulster Council, and who served on Council for nearly 20 years with the late Cllr Mulligan, said: “Bob was a man of the highest integrity who was never afraid to express his opinion or represent the views of his electorate and ensure that their needs were to the foremost in any council decisions taken.

“On a personal note Bob, was a man with a great sense of humour who enjoyed a joke and was very convivial company on an evening out. “

Meta Graham, deputy chair of Mid Ulster Council, and the current Ulster Unionist representative in the Clogher Valley said: “I very soon learned that Robert was a gentleman who was held in the greatest respect by all communities, and someone who had set a very high standard.

“His calm, cool and objective manner in assessing a constituents concern was a real lesson for me. To his wife and family I offer my deepest sympathy.”