Declan Breathnach
Declan Breathnach | |
---|---|
Breathnach in 2016 | |
Teachta Dála | |
In office February 2016 – February 2020 | |
Constituency | Louth |
Personal details | |
Born | (1958-06-03) 3 June 1958 (age 66) Knockbridge, County Louth, Ireland |
Political party | Fianna Fáil |
Spouse | Dorothy Breathnach (m. 1981; div. 2007) |
Children | 2 |
Alma mater | St Patrick's College, Dublin |
Declan Breathnach (born 3 June 1958) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Louth constituency from 2016 to 2020.[1][2]
Early life
A native of Knockbridge, Dundalk, Breathnach was educated at Dundalk CBS (now Coláiste Rís) and St Patrick's College (which has become a part of Dublin City University), where he earned a Bachelor of Education. He has worked within primary schools for 35 years as a teacher and principal.[3]
Political career
Breathnach has been a member of Fianna Fáil since his early teens. He had served as a Cumann Secretary, member of the officer board of Louth Comhairle Dáil Ceantair (constituency council) and as the Louth constituency representative on the Fianna Fáil National Executive, a position held up until his election as a member of Louth County Council in 1991. Since Breathnach's first election to Louth County Council in 1991, he successfully has retained his seat for 25 years, across 5 elections.[4]
He served as Joint Chairperson of the Memorandum of Association between Down Council and Louth Council from 2010 to 2015. He also was a member of the East Border Regions committee, and served as the Chairperson of the Louth County Council Special Policy Group on Infrastructure, European and Cross-Border Matters.[citation needed]
Breathnach served as a Louth County Councillor until 2016. He successfully contested the Louth constituency at 2016 general election, receiving 9,099 first preference votes (13.5%).[2][5] He previously contested the Louth constituency at 2011 general election but was not elected.[6]
Breathnach was the Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on North-South Bodies & Cross-Border Co-Operation and is also Vice-Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. He also served as Vice-Chairperson of the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly.[citation needed]
Breathnach lost his Dáil seat at the 2020 general election, leaving the Louth constituency without a Fianna Fáil TD for the first time in the history of the state. He also contested the 2020 Seanad election, but was unsuccessful.
On 9 July 2020, Breathnach formally apologised to Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald regarding a tweet from 11 October 2018. The tweet, posted on the second anniversary of the murder of Garda Tony Golden, has been deleted since. The tweet accused McDonald of being a hypocrite and condoning the deaths of multiple Gardaí, the settlement included a formal apology to McDonald but other terms were kept confidential.[7][8]
References
- ^ "Election 2016: Declan Breathnach". RTÉ News. 28 February 2016. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
- ^ a b "32nd Dáil - Louth First Preference Votes". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ "Declan Breathnach TD". Fianna Fáil. Archived from the original on 28 May 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
- ^ "Declan Breathnach". IrelandElection.com. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ "Declan Breathnach". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
- ^ "31st Dáil - Louth First Preference Votes". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ Phelan, Shane (22 December 2018). "McDonald sues Fianna Fáil TD for defamation over Twitter comment". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- ^ O'Loughlin, Ann (9 July 2020). "Mary Lou McDonald settles with ex-Fianna Fáil TD over alleged defamatory tweet". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
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Dáil | Election | Deputy (Party) | Deputy (Party) | Deputy (Party) | Deputy (Party) | Deputy (Party) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4th | 1923 | Frank Aiken (Rep) | James Murphy (CnaG) | Peter Hughes (CnaG) | 3 seats until 1977 | ||||||
5th | 1927 (Jun) | Frank Aiken (FF) | James Coburn (NL) | ||||||||
6th | 1927 (Sep) | ||||||||||
7th | 1932 | James Coburn (Ind) | |||||||||
8th | 1933 | ||||||||||
9th | 1937 | Laurence Walsh (FF) | James Coburn (FG) | ||||||||
10th | 1938 | ||||||||||
11th | 1943 | Roddy Connolly (Lab) | |||||||||
12th | 1944 | Laurence Walsh (FF) | |||||||||
13th | 1948 | Roddy Connolly (Lab) | |||||||||
14th | 1951 | Laurence Walsh (FF) | |||||||||
1954 by-election | George Coburn (FG) | ||||||||||
15th | 1954 | Paddy Donegan (FG) | |||||||||
16th | 1957 | Pádraig Faulkner[a] (FF) | |||||||||
17th | 1961 | Paddy Donegan (FG) | |||||||||
18th | 1965 | ||||||||||
19th | 1969 | ||||||||||
20th | 1973 | Joseph Farrell (FF) | |||||||||
21st | 1977 | Eddie Filgate (FF) | 4 seats 1977–2011 | ||||||||
22nd | 1981 | Paddy Agnew (AHB) | Bernard Markey (FG) | ||||||||
23rd | 1982 (Feb) | Thomas Bellew (FF) | |||||||||
24th | 1982 (Nov) | Michael Bell (Lab) | Séamus Kirk[b] (FF) | Brendan McGahon (FG) | |||||||
25th | 1987 | Dermot Ahern (FF) | |||||||||
26th | 1989 | ||||||||||
27th | 1992 | ||||||||||
28th | 1997 | ||||||||||
29th | 2002 | Arthur Morgan (SF) | Fergus O'Dowd (FG) | ||||||||
30th | 2007 | ||||||||||
31st | 2011 | Gerry Adams (SF) | Ged Nash (Lab) | Peter Fitzpatrick (FG) | |||||||
32nd | 2016 | Declan Breathnach (FF) | Imelda Munster (SF) | ||||||||
33rd | 2020 | Ruairí Ó Murchú (SF) | Ged Nash (Lab) | Peter Fitzpatrick (Ind) |
- ^ Faulker served as Ceann Comhairle in the 21st Dáil from 1977 to 1981, and was returned automatically at the 1981 election.
- ^ Kirk served as Ceann Comhairle in the 30th Dáil from 2009 to 2011, and was returned automatically at the 2011 election.