Dungannon is to have its first mayor when the district is elevated to borough status later this month. The local authority's new name will be Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council when the change is conferred on November 25th.
The borough council is to hold a civic dinner next month to celebrate its new identity, sealed by charter by the Department of the Environment last week. But the development has not attracted universal approval. Cllr Gerry Cullen said the move was "a sad day for this district" and would "go down like a lead balloon."