Alliance rising star quits: Former deputy mayor Hannah Irwin fourth of the party's Ards and North Down councillors to leave politics in less than three years

Hannah Irwin was deputy mayor of Ards and North Down Council from 2023 to 2024, a position she ascended to only around a year after she earned a place on the local authority.

Commonly regarded as a bright hope for the party, at the very least on a local level, she’s now out of the political sphere altogether.

In a statement to the News Letter, she didn’t give a specific reason for her resignation, though stated she’d been honoured to represent her Bangor East and Donaghadee district.

She added: “I remain a great supporter of Alliance and look forward to supporting my colleagues on the ground throughout the next campaign.

“I wish my successor the very best in continuing to serve the people of Bangor East and Donaghadee with the utmost dedication they deserve."

Ms Irwin was appointed to the council in 2022, replacing Connie Egan on the latter’s election as MLA.

In the following year’s election, the first Ms Irwin faced as a sitting politician, she justified Alliance’s faith in her, coming second in her district with 17% of the vote.

A few weeks after the election she became deputy mayor, stating at the time that “as a young LGBTQ+ woman in politics”, she wanted to “showcase the progressive and vibrant nature” of Ards and North Down.

She added: “I will help in any way I can to do that, championing openness and transparency, while working towards making Ards and North Down the inclusive area we all know it is.”

During her time in politics she was outspoken on socially liberal issues – for example, publicly criticising Westminster for vetoing a Scottish law that would have made it much easier for people to change gender.

She also spoke out against the social media abuse of women in politics, something she revealed she started to receive within days of joining the council.

Her resignation makes Ms Irwin the fourth Alliance councillor in Ards and North Down to quit since the last election.

In August 2023, just four months after a poll that saw the party gain two seats in the borough, long-running politician Karen Douglas resigned. A high profile name, she’d served as mayor the year before Ms Irwin became deputy mayor and also pledged to continue to back the party.

In October 2024, two more Alliance councillors left – one of them attacking the party as he went.

David Rossiter and Christine Creighton handed in their resignations within the same week. Both of them stood for election for the first time the previous year, during which Mr Rossiter was majorly pushed by the party while Ms Creighton topped the poll in her district.

On his way out, Mr Rossiter accused Alliance of ducking constitutional discussions over the future of Northern Ireland to appease soft unionist voters, adding he could “no longer support a party that has not embraced the possibility of a new Ireland”.