Write a comment
Former Newry Councillor John McArdle has passed away at his home at Glen Hill Park in Newry. Cllr McArdle represented Newry Town for the SDLP from 2001 and retired in 2015. He spent a year as Mayor of Newry and Mourne District Council from 2012-2013. He also campaigned endlessly for civil rights and in recent years for Daisy Hill Hospital where he worked as a nurse.
Passing on her sympathies Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson, Cllr Valerie Harte said, “Following the passing of former Mayor of Newry and Mourne District Council, Cllr John McArdle, I would like to express my deepest sympathies to his family and friends. I will be paying tribute as Chairperson to Mr McArdle at my next meeting of full Council.”
Fellow SDLP colleagues paid tribute to the hard working public representative. Cllr Michael Savage led the party tributes to the highly respected former councillor who passed away last evening.
Councillor Savage said: "I was proud to call John McArdle a very dear friend and mentor and I will miss him dearly. He was a great family man, a man of integrity with unyielding faith who worked tirelessly for the people of this area as a valued member of the nursing staff at his beloved Daisy Hill Hospital and then as a public representative for many years on Newry and Mourne District Council where he served a term as Mayor.
"Over the years John and I forged a strong friendship and throughout many election campaigns he would have offered sage words of advice and kept the craic going with his fantastic sense of humour.
Cllr Savage pointed out that he believed strongly in the SDLP principles of respect and equality and the need to protect the most vulnerable in our society, something that stemmed from his deep faith as a dedicated parishioner at the Church of the Assumption Drumalane.
He added "The SDLP family across Newry is mourning the loss of a dear friend and colleague. My heart goes out to John's family who he loved deeply. My sincere condolences go to John's wife Patricia who cared for him throughout his illness and to John's sons Cathal and Ciaran and the wider family circle at this very sad and difficult time. May his gentle soul rest in peace."
Newry & Armagh MLA Justin McNulty added: “It was with a very heavy heart this week that we learned of the passing of John McArdle. John was a vivacious, warm and trusted man whose integrity and passion for people shone through. John dedicated his whole life to the service of others, both as a nurse and an SDLP Councillor. He was a proud Newry man, and a devoted family man, something that was abundantly clear to all who knew him.
“John was a tireless advocate for and defender of Daisy Hill Hospital. He toiled relentlessly for the people he served, and he did so without complaint. John was straight, passionate, and principled. He was a fierce defender of the marginalised and the vulnerable, and anyone who had the privilege of knowing John thought the world of him.
“My sincere sympathies are with John’s wife Patricia, his sons Cathal and Ciaran, his wider family circle, his friends in the SDLP, and his former colleagues in Daisy Hill Hospital. All those who knew John will mourn his loss deeply, and our community will be worse off without him.
“I measc na naomh go raibh sé.”
John is survived by his wife Patricia, sons Cathal and Ciaran and brother Eamon. His passing is deeply regretted by grandchildren Joshua, Nancy, Fiadh and Tess, daughters-in-law Andrea and Melissa, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces and the wider family circle.
John's Funeral is at 12.00 noon, 12 July in The Church of the Assumption, Drumalane. Burial afterwards in Monkshill cemetery.
