DUP: 'further artefacts' to be added to Lord Mayor's parlour after Sinn Fein complaint over 'missing' portrait

The issue was raised at a city council meeting on Tuesday evening, where former Lord Mayor Ryan Murphy asked for clarification from the new mayor – the DUP’s Tracy Kelly – about the whereabouts of the image of Michael D Higgins.

​Sinn Fein added the portrait to the lord mayor’s parlour during their stint in the post – along with a picture of King Charles.

However, in recent images posted on social media by the new DUP mayor, the image of the Republic of Ireland’s head of state was no longer there.

Councillor Ryan Murphy – who according to the Sinn Fein website works as a Constituency Manager for Carál Ní Chuilín MLA – raised the issue in council.

“When our representatives have been in that position of being the mayor, there were certain things that we never took off the walls. There were certain things we felt were off limits.

“And so when we were offered the royal portrait of the British King Charles [in March 2024], we accepted it and we put it up.

“And we put it up alongside Uachtarán na hÉireann (President of Ireland) Michael D Higgins, and we marked it with a small event in the mayor's office.

“It's concerning that we have seen in recent weeks that that portrait is no longer there, and we would just ask where is that portrait?

“And what kind of message does it send out to people in this city who hold the president of Ireland in high regard?”

Councillor Kelly responded: “Thank you, that's being noted. Thanks Ryan.”

Last year, a vandalised portrait of a former DUP mayor was reinstated after being vandalised. A Sinn Fein employee resigned from the party over the incident, and “voluntarily attended” a police interview. Michelle O’Neill told the Assembly in October that a Sinn Fein employee, who worked in the Assembly, had “made the party chief whip aware of their involvement”.