A Newry council official is to face an investigation into alleged misconduct on “scandalous” claims about a councillor amid a judicial review process.
A Co Down elected member made a proposal in chambers after allowing time for the official to apologise for thier conduct following the tragic death of his daughter.
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council had released a statement publicly acknowledging the “heartbreak caused” to independent councillor Jarlath Tinnelly, but he says the official has yet to contact him directly.
In chambers this week, Councillor Tinnelly said: “I’ve had no correspondence or word from that officer since, so I’m happy enough, chairman, as I indicated last month, to to allow this to play out via a formal investigation.”
He added:”I’ve seen a lot of gaslighting going on here this evening, and it has very quickly come into play.
“I want to be absolutely certain about something here. The judicial review and the contents of the legal correspondence were nothing to do with my complaint.
“My complaint is solely on what that officer did with that information.”
In July, the independent councillor said he was “crushed and broken” after his daughter Aoife Tinnelly, 24, tragically died in a fatal road traffic collision in Kilkeel on 20 April.
He went on to slam an unidentified council official in chambers for allegedly making “scandalous” claims about him at the family wake.
The Mournes elected members says “serious allegations” linked him to a said “affidavit” causing delays to the council’s new £17million civic centre.
But he told the Local Democracry Reporting Service that he was never asked for an affidavit and would not have given one.
The council had voted through designs for its new HQ in the city centre in June 2025.
The significantly delayed project has proved deeply divisive with more than 2,500 objections submitted by parishioners of Newry Cathedral mainly over car parking concerns for Mass goers.
A Newry resident has now cleared the first stage of a high court challenge to the council’s controversial civic centre.
In chambers, Councillor Tinnelly said: “The two issues cannot be conflated, and I will be seeking a formal investigation to begin into the matter that I’m raising here, which is what that officer did with that information.
“So, I wish to make a formal proposal that an investigation be launched into this matter through the appropriate avenue.”
The proposal was seconded by Mournes DUP councillor Alan Lewis.
A legal adviser alluded to the matter requiring the council’s human resources department to become involved.
