Sinn Féin Newry Mourne and Down District Council Councillor Naomi Bailie (30) took ill suddenly with meningitis on Wednesday and is in a serious condition in hospital in Belfast.
Naomi, representing the Downpatrick area, attended a full council meeting on Monday evening and looked fit and healthy, but within a day of the meeting, the illness struck and she was rushed to hospital. To date she has been in surgery a couple of times but has faced some complications.
She was the first chairperson of the new Newry Mourne and Down District Council in 2014 and has also acted as an adviser to Infrastructure Minister Chris Hazzard at Stormont. In her inaugural year she was married and had a baby girl called Niadh and settled down in Ballygalget in Upper Ards.
Naomi is a politics and government graduate from the University of Ulster and also took an MA in Irish politics at Queen’s University in Belfast.
Meningitis Now, a leading health charity, has indicated that the disease can strike at anyone, regardless of age, sex or state of health.
Newry Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson Councillor Gillian Fitzpatrick said: “We have send a message of support to Naomi’s family. We are deeply concerned and hope she makes a full recovery from this very terrible, sudden illness. The thoughts of everyone at the Council are with Naomi and her family just now.”
Party colleague Mourne’s Councillor Willie Clarke said: “Everyone is just shocked that Naomi has contracted this illness so suddenly. It is a very difficult time for her family, her friends and many colleagues.
“On social media too there has been a huge response of support and expressions from well-wishers hoping she has a a speedy recovery.
“We are all just stunned at the suddenness of her illness and and we hope Naomi will make a complete recovery before long.”
