Rosemary Barton (politician)

Margaret Elizabeth Rosemary Barton (born 26 July 1957) is an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician from Northern Ireland. She is a native of County Fermanagh and worked as a secondary schoolteacher in Kesh[1] before being elected as a UUP councillor for Fermanagh District Council, and has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone since the 2016 election.[2]

Rosemary Barton MLA
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Incumbent
Assumed office May 2016
Preceded by	Alastair Patterson
Personal details
Born	Rosemary Gregg 26 July 1957 Clontivrin, Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh
Nationality	British
Political party	Ulster Unionist Party
Spouse(s)	Marcus Barton

Career

Barton was a schoolteacher at Devenish College.[3] During that time, she taught the future Northern Ireland national football team player Kyle Lafferty.[4]

Political career

Before being elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly, Barton was elected as a councillor for Fermanagh District Council and later Fermanagh and Omagh District Council.[4] Barton was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2016 as the third woman elected to represent Fermanagh and South Tyrone alongside the First Minister of Northern Ireland Arlene Foster and Michelle Gildernew.[3] Her election as an MLA meant that she was forced to vacate her seat on the District Council.[5] Barton joined cross-community calls for an independent inquiry headed by the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland into the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal.[6]

Barton retained her seat in the 2017 election after Fermanagh and South Tyrone lost one seat, in common with all other constituencies, after the Assembly Members (Reduction of Numbers) Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 which led to the Democratic Unionist Party's Lord Morrow missing out.[7] She would become the UUP's education spokesperson in the Assembly.[8] During the 2018 Gaelic football season, Barton suggested (nationalist) Fermanagh GAA fans who "continually talk about the GAA team" in workplaces made unionist colleagues "apprehensive" and "uncomfortable" and amounted to "latent intimidation".[9]

Personal life

After having qualified as a teacher, Barton joined the Young Farmers' Clubs of Ulster in 1980 and met her future husband there. They married in 1984 in the Church of Ireland church in Clones, County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland.[4] Barton expressed surprise when she was informed by the Belfast Telegraph that Wikipedia had cited her age incorrectly in 2017.[4]

References

1. Rosemary Barton, Irish Life and Lore; accessed 17 July 2020
2. Profile, tyronetimes.co.uk; accessed 3 June 2016.
3. "UUP's Rosemary Barton takes the fourth seat in Fermanagh South Tyrone". Impartial Reporter. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
4. McNeilly, Claire (4 December 2017). "'I enjoyed teaching Kyle Lafferty. I thought he was really brave to speak out about his gambling woes, and hopefully he's managed to influence other people into taking a different path'". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
5. "Speculation starts over who will fill council vacancies". The Fermanagh Herald. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
6. Harte, Lauren (14 January 2017). "MLAs HAVE THEIR SAY: Rosemary Barton". The Fermanagh Herald. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
7. "NI Election: Fermanagh and South Tyrone - Arlene Foster stands alone as Morrow loses his long-held seat". Belfast Telegraph. 4 March 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
8. "UUP education spokesperson Rosemary Barton visits CSSC". Controlled Schools Support Council. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
9. "Staff made 'uncomfortable' over Fermanagh GAA progress: MLA hits out at 'latent intimidation'". Belfast Telegraph. 23 June 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2020.