William Loughnane (5 August 1915 – 18 October 1982) was an Irish

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

politician.

Biography

He was born 5 August 1915 in

Feakle Feakle (historically ''Feakell'' and ''Fiakil'', from ) is a village in County Clare, Ireland, in the Roman Catholic parish of the same name. Location "Paroiste na fiacaile" means parish of the tooth. A legend says that the tooth of Mochonna, t ...

, County Clare, son of Willie Loughnane, a farmer and shopkeeper, and Kate Loughnane (née McInerney). He was educated at Feakle national school;

St Flannan's College Saint Flannan's College is an Irish co-educational secondary school located in Ennis, County Clare, which takes its name from the 7th century patron saint of the Dál gCais. Formerly an all-boys boarding school, the first girls class was entere ...

, Ennis; CBS Limerick; and

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

(UCD), where he studied medicine. In 1938, while at UCD, he won an

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition i ...

with

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. He was elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

as a Fianna Fáil

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...

(TD) for the Clare–South Galway constituency at the 1969 general election. He was re-elected at the 1973 general election for the same constituency. He was elected for the Galway West constituency (which at that time surrounded Galway Bay to include North Clare) at the 1977 general election, and was elected for the

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

constituency at the

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

and February 1982 general elections. He died in October 1982 shortly before the November 1982 general election. He was a noted Republican backbencher within Fianna Fáil. He and Síle de Valera were highly critical of the then

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Jack Lynch John Mary Lynch (15 August 1917 – 20 October 1999) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1966 to 1979, Leader of the Opposition from 1973 to 1977, Minister ...

, criticism which precipitated Lynch's resignation in 1979. He was also a supporter of the

Anti H-Block Anti H-Block was the political label used in 1981 by supporters of the Irish republican hunger strike who were standing for election in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. "H-Block" was a metonym for the Maze Prison, within whos ...

movement. Before his election as a TD, and for a while after, he played the fiddle with

The Tulla Céilí Band The Tulla Céilí Band is an Irish céilí band. History The band was founded in 1946 by Paddy Canny, fellow fiddler P.J. Hayes, pianist Teresa Tubridy, and accordion player Joe Cooley at Minogue's Bar in Tulla, County Clare, Ireland. They were ...

. pp. 65, 67, 69

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loughnane, Bill 1915 births 1982 deaths Fianna Fáil TDs Members of the 19th Dáil Members of the 20th Dáil Members of the 21st Dáil Members of the 22nd Dáil Members of the 23rd Dáil Politicians from County Clare Politicians from County Galway 20th-century Irish medical doctors People educated at St Flannan's College Alumni of University College Dublin People from Feakle Medical doctors from County Clare