For the first time Belfast has a republican as its mayor following the investiture of Sinn Fein's Alex Maskey.

Maskey was installed in a ceremony on Wednesday at which he pledged to be the "model of tolerance for sharing power".

His election was made possible after he received backing from cross community Alliance Party councillors.

Three Alliance councillors announced last Friday that they would give Sinn Fein their backing as the party was now "part of the democratic process".

Maskey received 26 votes, beating Ulster Unionist Chris McGimpsey on 15 votes and the Democratic Unionist Robin Newton on 10.

The new mayor made a conciliatory speech in which he pledged to find "partners for peace" who could calm the current tensions. He asked his critics to give him a chance.

"I would ask them to look, listen and learn. Judge me on what they see me doing and saying," he said.

The investiture was not without rancour; as a gesture of anger the unionist councillors refused to vote in a deputy mayor.

North Belfast MP Nigel Dodds of the DUP described the occasion as the "most divisive thing to have happened in Belfast for many a long year".