SINN Féin Councillor Áine McCabe is set to stand in her first Belfast City Council election, after serving the needs of the Andersonstown community for over two years at City Hall.
At the end of 2020, Cllr McCabe was co-opted to Belfast City Council, replacing Emma Groves. Reflecting on the past few years, she said the highlight of her work has been “helping and supporting people.”
“When I took on the role the first thing I did was a number of the menopause cafés. We also linked in with a number of the Ógra activists who were doing the period poverty campaign,” she said.
As the chair of Belfast Council’s Women’s Steering Group, Cllr McCabe said it is important to “bring community into it".
“I had five different events on International Women’s Day. I invited Shankill Women’s Centre and Falls Women’s Centre to speak at the event at City Hall. With anything that I do, I always try to bring the community aspect to it.
“It was also during Féile an Earraigh, so we had our all-female trad group at 2 Royal Avenue. We also linked up with Bomoko NI which is an organisation for asylum seekers and refugees, and a number of women there told their stories.”
Tullymore Women's Group celebrated at Belfast City Hall with Cllr Áine McCabe and Lord Mayor Tina Black
Áine highlighted the incredible work by Tullymore Community Centre, celebrating and honouring the achievements of both the UTOPIA group, the older person’s project based in Tullymore and the Tullymore Women’s Group at Belfast City Hall in March.
Áine, who previously worked as a Special Advisor to the late Deputy Minister Martin McGuinness, said there is “no greater joy than when you are able to help people".
The Sinn Féin Councillor said her big focus will be ensuring the community get what their rates pay for, including repairing potholes and ensuring bins are lifted. She said she will be continuing with clean-ups and campaigning to prevent dog fouling.
A long term aim of Cllr McCabe’s is to make Andersonstown a dementia friendly neighbourhood.
Dementia Friendly Communities Workshop held at Andersonstown Leisure Centre
“I recently held a Dementia Training Day in the Andersonstown Leisure Centre which received a lot of interest and people want more of it. It’s two-hour training and is an introduction to what dementia is and the signs to look out for.”
In addition to her role as a councillor, Áine also works with Féile an Phobail, planning Ireland's biggest community arts festival.
“I deal with the debates and discussions at Féile and feel it gives people a voice. It’s free for most of the events, which includes around 300 events."
The Andersonstown woman is also one of the representatives for the Upper Falls Community Safety Forum stating that tackling violence against women is a priority.
Alongside Cllr Conor Maskey, Cllr McCabe also brought a motion to council to increase support for women in sport.
