THE SDLP has selected East Belfast GAA co-founder David McGreevy to contest the East Belfast constituency at the next Assembly election.
Mr McGreevy lives in East Belfast with his wife and three young children. Originally from Teconnaught in County Down he spent almost a decade living in London before returning home.
In 2020, he was one of the co-founders of East Belfast GAA, which has grown into a thriving cross-community sports club bringing together people from a wide range of backgrounds.
Speaking following his selection, David McGreevy said: "East Belfast is where I have chosen to bring up my family, and it is a wonderfully vibrant and diverse constituency that I am proud to call home.
"I have seen first-hand the potential that can be unlocked when people come together to build something new and inclusive.
"That experience has reinforced my belief that we can achieve much more when we focus on what we share rather than what divides us. That is the approach I want to bring to politics – inclusivity, community and delivery.
"I don’t look at East Belfast through the lens of the traditional divide and ask whether someone like me is supposed to stand here. That is exactly the kind of politics I believe people want to move beyond.
"Whilst there has never been an SDLP MLA for the constituency, I believe there are a growing number of people who are increasingly curious and open-minded about perspectives they might once have thought were closed off to them when it comes to the constitutional future of the island.
"The unity debate has sometimes been framed as belonging to one tradition or one community. I don’t believe it should be. Nobody should feel that their background determines the questions they are allowed to ask, or the conversations they are allowed to be part of. Being curious about what the future could look like doesn’t require anyone to leave their identity behind."
SDLP Leader Claire Hanna MP said: "David has already demonstrated what he can contribute to East Belfast. He is a builder and a doer who understands how to bring people together and turn a good idea into something real.
"His experience reflects the kind of politics we want to offer – confident in our own values but open to people from every background, focused on persuasion rather than division and determined to make Northern Ireland work better in the here and now.
"David brings experience of community development and good relations, alongside a record of actually delivering things. I’m delighted he is standing for the SDLP and know he will bring something distinctive to the politics of East Belfast."
