Davy Tweed
David Tweed | |
|---|---|
| Member of Ballymena Borough Council | |
| In office 21 May 1997 – 14 February 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Frederick Coulter |
| Succeeded by | Timothy Gaston |
| Constituency | Ballymena South |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 November 1959 Dunloy, County Antrim, Northern Ireland |
| Died | 28 October 2021 (aged 61) |
| Political party | Traditional Unionist Voice (2009–2012) Democratic Unionist Party (1997–2007) |
| Other political affiliations | Independent (2012–2013) UUCP (2007–2010) |
David Alexander Tweed (13 November 1959 – 28 October 2021) was a Northern Irish unionist politician and Irish rugby union international.
He is alleged to have been a serial child sex offender despite never having been convicted of that offence. In 2012, he was found guilty of child sexual abuse and served four years in prison before that conviction was overturned due to the wording of the direction given to the jury by the trial judge. Tweed's family later accused him of domestic abuse towards his former partner and of sexual abuse of a number of her children and of other children to whom he had access.
After his death he was lauded upon his death as a "larger than life character" by members of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and by Jim Allister, leader of the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV).
As a politician, Tweed served as a Ballymena Borough Councillor for the Ballymena South DEA from 1997 to 2013.