Charles Mulholland, 4th Baron Dunleath
The 4th Baron Dunleath | |
|---|---|
| Member of the House of Lords | |
| In office 1956–1993 | |
| Member of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention for North Down | |
| In office 1975–1976 | |
| Preceded by | Convention founded |
| Succeeded by | Convention dissolved |
| Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for North Down | |
| In office 28 June 1973 – 1974 | |
| Preceded by | Assembly established |
| Succeeded by | Assembly abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1933 County Down, Northern Ireland |
| Died | 1993 |
| Political party | Alliance Party (from 1973) |
| Other political affiliations | Ulster Unionist (until 1973) |
Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Edward Henry John Mulholland, 4th Baron Dunleath DL (1933–1993) was a Northern Irish politician.
Background
[edit]Mulholland studied at Eton College and the University of Cambridge.[1] Mulholland succeeded as Baron Dunleath in 1956 and entered the House of Lords. He was married to Dorinda (15 February 1929 – 19 March 2022), only daughter of Arthur Percival, on 5 December 1959.[2]
As Lord Dunleath, he became a deputy lieutenant of County Down and the commanding officer (lieutenant-colonel) of the North Irish Horse in the Territorial Army.[1] He was also interested in vintage motoring.[3] In August 1967, he was appointed to the BBC's board of governors, taking over from Richard Pim as governor for Northern Ireland.[4]
In the early 1970s, Dunleath was active in the Ulster Defence Regiment and was an Ulster Unionist Party member.[5] However, he joined the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, and was elected for the party in North Down at the 1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election. He held the seat on the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention.[6]
Dunleath was the only Alliance Party member in the House of Lords.[7] While there, he strongly promoted the Education (Northern Ireland) Act, 1978, which permitted representatives of the Roman Catholic church to take a role in the Protestant-dominated state school system.[8] He also attempted to introduce a bill to liberalise divorce law in Northern Ireland.[9]
Dunleath was chairman of a company which bid for the Independent Television licence for Northern Ireland in 1979. In order to place the bid, he was required to resign from his party affiliation,[7] and thereafter sat as a crossbencher.[8] However, he was elected at the 1982 Assembly election for the Alliance Party again in North Down.[6]
On Dunleath's death, his title passed to his first cousin Michael Mulholland.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Oliver Pritchett, "The team with the fate of radio in its hands", The Guardian, 29 May 1969
- ^ "An Appreciation of Dorinda Dunleath by Alistair Rowan". Ulster Architectural Heritage Society
- ^ Ivan Yates and Laurence Marks, "BBC: When Curran tried to blow the whistle", The Observer, 22 February 1970
- ^ "Lord Hill goes to BBC", The Guardian, 27 July 1967
- ^ "Ulster scheme to recruit women for search duties", The Guardian, 12 June 1973
- ^ a b North Down 1973–1982, Northern Ireland Elections
- ^ a b "Resignation", The Guardian, 3 November 1979
- ^ a b Bob Rodwell, "A fully-integrated, all-Protestant school", The Guardian, 2 November 1981
- ^ Anne McHardy, "Divorce reform for Ulster", The Guardian, 20 July 1977
| Authority control databases: People |
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- 1933 births
- 1993 deaths
- Alliance Party of Northern Ireland peers
- Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
- BBC Governors
- Deputy lieutenants of Down
- Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1973–1974
- Members of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
- Northern Ireland MPAs 1982–1986
- Ulster Defence Regiment officers
- Ulster Unionist Party hereditary peers
- People educated at Eton College
- North Irish Horse officers
- Alumni of the University of Cambridge