Finian McGrath

Infobox Politician
name = Finian McGrath
honorific-suffix = TD
small

nationality =Irish
office =Teachta Dála
term_start =17 May 2002
term_end =
vicepresident =
predecessor =
successor =
birth_date =birth date and age|1953|04|09|df=y
birth_place =Tuam
County Galway
Ireland
death_date =
death_place =
constituency =Dublin North Central
party =Independent
spouse =
religion =Roman CatholicFact|date=June 2007
order2 =
term_start2 =
term_end2 =
president =
predecessor2 =
successor2 =|

Finian McGrath (born 9 April 1953) is an Irish Independent politician. Originally from Tuam, County Galway, he is currently a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin North Central. He was elected to Dublin City Council in 1999 with the second highest vote in the Dublin North Central constituency. McGrath stood as an Independent Health Alliance candidate, and was first elected to Dáil Éireann in the 2002 general election. He joined the Technical Group, established to ensure Dáil speaking time for the Independent TDs. He retained his Dáil Éireann seat in the 2007 general election, despite his constituency being reduced from four to three seats and despite a countrywide squeeze on independents. He generally holds left-wing political views and has cited health, education and disability as his policy priorities. McGrath has also campaigned against the war in Iraq and the US military's use of Shannon Airport as a stopover, and on local environmental issues, and has spoken in support of Fidel Castro's socialist government in Cuba.

McGrath was a contestant on the "You're A Star" charity special in summer 2005, where he came in second. He released a charity single in December 2005 which featured the Christmas song "Angels We Have Heard on High" and the classic "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown". All proceeds from the sales of this single were donated to Downs Syndrome Ireland.

As an independent member of the 30th Dáil, McGrath has pledged his support for the present government for a full five year term. In so doing, he has secured a deal with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, which he has since made public by entering it in the Dáil record. This public announcement has been hailed by many observers who have criticised other independent TDs for keeping similar deals secret.

External links

* [http://www.finianmcgrath.ie Official website]