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Mike Nesbitt is leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and an MLA for Strangford. Before entering politics, he was a radio and TV presenter and later a Victims’ Commissioner. He is also a keen sports fan who has represented Ireland as an international athlete.

Michelle O’Neill is Sinn Féin MLA for Mid Ulster and has been Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development since 2011. She has been involved in political activism from a young age and has held various senior positions in Mid-Ulster Sinn Féin. Coming from a rural community Michelle has always had a keen interest in rural issues and maintaining the rural way of life. She is a member of Clonoe O’Rahillys GAA.

Gregory Campbell is MP for Londonderry East. He is DUP Spokesperson on International Development and the Cabinet Office. He joined the DUP in the 1970s and was first elected to Derry City Council in 1981. He briefly led local DUP members out of the Council in 1984 when the council changed its name from Londonderry to Derry City Council. 

Claire Hanna is MLA for South Belfast and was previously a Councillor for Balmoral. She chaired the Town Planning committee and represented the SDLP on the Diversity working group, addressing politically contentious issues including commemorations and flags. 

Máiría Cahill has joined the Irish Labour Party and has been nominated by its leader as the party's candidate to replace senator, Jimmy Harte. She will go before the Labour Party parliamentary party and Central Council tomorrow for ratification. As a teenager, she was a rising star in Sinn Féin.  Her allegation that she was raped by an IRA member when she was 16 and that the republican movement covered it up made international headlines in 2014.