The ‘first lady’ of Lisburn

Councillor Margaret Tolerton has become the first Lady Mayoress of Lisburn in a decade foolowing last week’s AGM.

Mrs Tolerton, who took up the post of First Citizen last Friday, is delighted to have been elevated to the lofty heights and is eagerly anticipating a year of meeting and greeting the people of Lisburn.

Appropriately taking ‘women at the heart of the community’ as her theme for her mayoral term, Mrs Tolerton is hoping to meet as many women of the city as possible and will be issuing invitations to WIs, MUs, PWs and other women’s groups in Lisburn, to visit theMayor’s parlour.

“I have been involved with community groups for the past ten or twelve years and in my opinion the most successful groups are those with women as office holders. Women bring a different perspective to community groups. They do a lot behind the scenes that isn’t recognised and I want to give that recognition.”

The new Mayor is also hoping to use the next year to raise as much money as possible for her chosen charity - the Diabetes Clinic at the Lagan Valley Hospital. “I have been a class 1 Diabetic for over 50 years,” explained Mrs Tolerton. “I attend the clinic myself and the staff there do a fantastic job. I wanted to chose something local for my mayoral charity and I want to provide something that benefits all diabetics across the city.”

Mrs Tolerton, who is also an active member of Maze Presbyterian Church, has asked Rev William Henry to be her Chaplain for the year. “The church have already been very supportive,” she explained. “Every member of the congregation was given a leaflet with prayer points on it to enable them to pray for me during my time 
in office.”

There are a host of events coming up throughout the year which the new mayor is looking forward to, including the 50th anniversary of the granting of the Charter by the Queen to Lisburn Borough, the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War and the granting of the freedom of the city to Lisburn’s uniformed 
organisations. Mrs Tolerton has already had a busy start to her term, with a vast array of events over her first few days, including welcoming the Mayor and Mayoress of Killarney.

The new Mayor was born in Drumbo into a dairy farming family. Politics is also in her blood as her uncle also served on Lisburn Council in the 80s. She worked for many years in the Social Security Office in Lisburn and is the mother of Helen and Ian, as well as the proud Granny of Emma.

She is a member of the Loyal Order of Women in Ireland and served as Past Mistress of her own Lodge in Magheragall, as well as Past District Mistress and Deputy County Mistress. “This won’t preclude me from working with everyone in the community,” she added. “I will be a mayor for everyone.”

During her inaugural speech to Lisburn City Council, she thanked everyone for their support and paid particular tribute to former councillor Stephen Moore, whose seat she was co-opted onto following his tragic death in 2007.

She also thanked outgoing Mayor William Leathem, who helped her throughout her time as his Deputy Mayor. “My year as Deputy Mayor was good training for being Mayor,” explained Mrs Tolerton. “I am very good friends with William and Kathleen and he has guided me well. Everyone I meet say he will be a hard act to follow. I can’t match William but I am going to plough my own furrow.”

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