the Rex Bar. Calls were made for McCoubrey to resign, although he claimed that he did not know Adair and Stone would be there and that he was not expecting the gun-fire in the paramilitary show of strength that ended the night. Ultimately the Council decided not to take any action against McCoubrey, with a motion of censure brought in by the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland's David Alderdice defeated in the council. McCoubrey also faced criticism from a former Lord Mayor of Belfast, Hugh Smyth, who had been a friend of his until the incident, with a number of Smyth's colleagues in the Progressive Unionist Party amongst those ran out of the Shankill by Adair and 'C' Company. Subsequent activity McCoubrey remains a member of the Council. He officially sat as an Independent, as do all elected members of the UPRG. However, in November 2012 it was announced that McCoubrey was giving up his independent status to become a member of the DUP. McCoubrey remains a prominent community activist in the Shankill, working to secure increased funding for the Shankill district, which was named in 2008 as Northern Ireland's most deprived area. In December 2008, McCoubrey was nominated by Bob Stoker for the post of High Sheriff of Belfast and was sworn into office on 21 January 2009. Subsequently he successfully defended his council seat in the 2011 local elections. He retained his seat for the DUP in 2014 and was also the party's unsuccessful candidate for West Belfast in the 2015 general election and the 2016 Assembly election (also in Belfast West), where he came within 90 votes of winning the first seat for a Unionist party in 13 years. In 2020, McCoubrey was appointed Lord Mayor of Belfast replacing Sinn Fein's Daniel Baker. Due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic the traditional handover was replaced with a smaller meeting in front of 18 of the 60 Belfast councillors inside the chamber at City Hall. McCoubrey is a member of the board of directors of the Shankill Mirror, a newspaper aimed at the loyalist communities of the Greater Shankill and North Belfast. References 1967 births Living people High Sheriffs of Belfast Independent politicians in Northern Ireland Members of Belfast City Council Ulster Democratic Party politicians Democratic Unionist Party councillors