Robert J McConnell was a property developer and auctioneer who served as Lord Mayor of Belfast during 1900.

McConnell was born on 6 February 1853 at Clougher, Co. Antrim. He was educated at Thompson’s School, Lisburn, and subsequently served an apprenticeship in Belfast at an estate agency business.

McConnell set up his own firm at Castle Chambers with his brother, William Clarke McConnell. The business relocated to Royal Avenue where it traded as the Belfast Property Mart. McConnell also practised as an auctioneer.

In 1886, McConnell was elected as a councillor for St Anne’s ward. He was elected as alderman for Shankill ward in 1899, and served as Lord Mayor the following year. He was granted a baronetcy by Queen Victoria in 1900.

In 1890, McConnell was elected as a member of the Belfast Board of Guardians. He also chairman of the Water Board from 1893 to 1896 and played an important role in a project to supply Belfast with water from the Mourne district of County Down.

McConnell is associated with the naming of the ‘Holyland’ area of south Belfast. After returning from a visit to the Middle East, McConnell persuaded his friend, the developer James Rea, to name the streets Cairo, Carmel, Damascus, Jerusalem and Palestine.

McConnell built between 7,000 and 8,000 houses in Belfast. He was a pioneer of ‘garden villa’ developments which can still be seen in the Cliftonville area of Belfast.