Conall McDevitt

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Conall McDevitt was born in 1972 in Dublin, Ireland but brought up in Malaga, Spain. He became National Secretary of Labour Youth(Ireland) in 1993 and Vice President of ECOSY (European Community Organisation of Socialist Youth) in 1994. The son of an Official IRA internee and the great grandson of one of Belfast's best known republican socialists, Danny McDevitt, he became the SDLP's Director of Communications in November 1996 and served there until December 1999.

He was involved in the political negotations which led to the Good Friday Agreement and the subsequent referendum and elections which saw the SDLP emerge as the most popular party in Northern Ireland. During the talks McDevitt acted as spokesperson for John Hume and Seamus Mallon and was regularly pictured at their side.

Following the establishment of the Power Sharing Executive, McDevitt served as Special Adviser to the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Brid Rodgers. He was involved in the attempts to resolve the impasse at Drumcree and advised Rodgers during the 2002 Foot and Mouth Crisis in Northern Ireland for which she received wide popular acclaim.

Managing Director of Weber Shandwick in Northern Ireland since 2007 and Chairperson of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, he has won several PRCA, CIPR Pride CIPR Excellence Awards for his consultancy work.

Educated at the Instituto Bachillerato Mixto, Fuengirola, Malaga. He is an avid follower of the Dublin GAA team and a marathon runner.

McDevitt is a well known political commentator in Northern Ireland and has a regular column in the Irish News. He lectures occasionally on public affairs and public relations. His blog [[1]] has become an influential source of commentary of economic and political issues on the island of Ireland.