Sinn Féin has named Lisburn councillor Declan Lynch as its candidate for the Lagan Valley constituency at the Northern Ireland Assembly election scheduled for May 2027.

The selection was announced at an event in the Haslem Hotel in Lisburn on Monday evening.

Lynch, a former captain of the Antrim senior football team, serves on Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council and chairs its Policing and Community Safety Partnership. He is an Irish speaker and lives in the constituency with his family.

In his address, Lynch noted that Lagan Valley currently has no nationalist MLA and argued that recent boundary changes to the constituency create an opportunity for Sinn Féin to win a seat.

Sinn Féin Vice President Michelle O’Neill attended the event and said the party is growing in the area. She described Lynch as committed and energetic, with deep community roots.

The next Assembly election is due in May 2027.