‘Dad I love you and I’m angry this happened’: Shock as former vice-chairman of Alliance Party Glenn Finlay dead aged 41

Glenn Finlay was a councillor for the Dunsilly district of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council.

He had been suspended from the party last year, though the reasons for this are vague.

He then ceased being an Alliance councillor, and redesignated as an independent.

Last December, the Alliance Party issued this statement: “Due to ongoing investigations, Glenn Finlay has been suspended from all roles connected with the Alliance Party on a precautionary and without prejudice basis.

“We will be making no further comment at this time.”

It is understood he was married with two children, and was a grandfather too.

His son Dylan Finlay wrote on Facebook this morning: “I don’t have anything to say on what has happened the last 24 hours, I could write a thousand lines and it still wouldn’t be enough.

“I just want to have the privacy to grieve at this moment in time if everyone could respect that.

“The only thing I will say is Dad I love you and I’m angry that this has happened.”

The Alliance Party said this today: “We are shocked by the sudden death of Glenn Finlay.

“We would ask people respect the privacy of his family at this very difficult time and we extend to them our sincerest condolences.”

A FRESH FACE ON THE COUNCIL:

Councillor Finlay stood for election for the first time in 2019, garnering over 900 first-preference votes – making him the second-most popular candidate in the Dunsilly area (just behind Henry Cushinan of Sinn Fein).

He was still serving as an independent at the time of his death (although his Facebook page, which he was last active on about three weeks ago, displays a main profile picture of him with members of the local Alliance team).

Council records show that the last time he attended one of the council’s monthly meetings was last November, before news of his suspension emerged.

He also had not attended a monthly meeting of the Policy and Governance Committee on which he sat since last October.

Dunsilly is in the westernmost part of the Antrim and Newtownabbey council area, running from Antrim town itself to Toomebridge, and it is understood that this is the area he called home.

He was interested in feminist and LGBTQ issues, as well as mental health.

In a statement mid-way through the pandemic, he had said: “Mental health is something none of us can take for granted and yet we often find it is something we don’t talk enough about in men.

“From the rate of male suicide to concerns over attainment within the education sector, mental health issues in males have been a problem pre-covid. We all have the chance to help those around us – be aware, ask the hard questions and know when to step in and help.

“There are dark days ahead; we can all help each other through it.”

He had also written a piece last year for the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Irish Studies to mark Northern Ireland’s centenary, setting out his political views.

In it, he criticised both unionist “insularism” and nationalist “aversion to all things British”.

He had written: “The reality is, very little separates the culture and outward thinking of Britain and Ireland in the contemporary world. Imperial Britain is in the past. Stereotypical Ireland is in the past...

“[W]hile I feel somewhat of an Irish and British mix, I am ultimately Northern Irish, which is neither of the two.

“When I travel to the Irish Republic or to Great Britain I know I am not at home.

“Northern Ireland, with all its nuances and foibles is my home. No matter who I pay my taxes to, that will never change.”

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