Tributes for former mayor Ellie McKay – ‘a proud Ulsterwoman’

The long-serving Ulster Unionist councillor, who represented the Holywood area for more than 35 years until 2015, has been described by Peter Weir as a “staunch unionist and proud Ulsterwoman”.

But above all, the education minister said, Mrs McKay was “a loyal friend who never let me down throughout the years”.

DUP MLA Gordon Dunne also praised the former mayor.

He said: “I was very saddened to hear the news of the passing of Ellie McKay. Ellie was an incredibly hard working and determined lady who served her local community with distinction for so many years and I was proud to call her a friend.

“Ellie was also a real character and she was a very determined lady who was passionate about her work within the local community and made a very valuable contribution to civic life and to Holywood, and the wider borough.”

Alliance MP Stephen Farry said Mrs McKay – who was awarded the MBE in 2009 – served the community with “great distinction,” and added: “Despite our different political perspective, she was a good friend, and someone you could do business with”.

A notice on the www.funeraltimes,com website describes Mrs McKay as the “beloved wife of the late Victor, devoted mum of Catherine, Margaret, Hannah, James and the late Victor John, loving mother-in-law, granny and great granny”.