Brendan McGahon (22 November 1936 – 8 February 2017) was an Irish
Fine Gael
Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil à ...
politician who served as a
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
Louth Louth may refer to:
Australia
*Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia
* Louth, New South Wales, a town
* Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia
**Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality
Canada
* Louth, Ontario
Ireland
* Cou ...
constituency from 1982 to 2002.
Often described as 'colourful', with a reputation as a social conservative, McGahon was first elected to
Dáil Éireann at the
November 1982 general election and retained his seat until retiring at the
2002 general election.
Early life
McGahon was born in
Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
,
County Louth, and was educated at St. Mary's College in Dundalk. His grandfather, T.F. McGahon, was one of the inaugural members of Dundalk Urban District Council when it was created along with other Irish local authorities by the British Government in 1898. T.F. McGahon was a leading member of the
Irish Parliamentary Party
The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nation ...
(IPP). He started a local newspaper, the Dundalk Democrat which was supportive of the IPP. T.F. was a critic of the
War of Independence
This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence.
List
See also
* Lists of active separatist movements
* List of civil wars
* List o ...
campaign, of
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
, and of the then
IRA
Ira or IRA may refer to:
*Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name
*Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name
*Iran, UNDP code IRA
Law
*Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...
, arguing that the campaign would result in the
partition of Ireland
The partition of Ireland ( ga, crÃochdheighilt na hÉireann) was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. ...
. He was later succeeded on the council by his son, O.B. McGahon who in turn was followed by his nephew, Hugh McGahon. The family subsequently supported the
National League Party
The National League was a political party in Ireland. It was founded in 1926 by William Redmond (Irish politician, born 1886), William Redmond and Thomas O'Donnell (Irish nationalist politician), Thomas O'Donnell in support of the Anglo-Ir ...
and the Independent TD
James Coburn and joined Fine Gael when Coburn joined the party. They were also prominent members of the
Ancient Order of Hibernians
The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH; ) is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be male, Catholic, and either born in Ireland or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is now in the United States, where it was founded in N ...
.
Brendan married Celine Lundy, a widow from
Newry
Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Armagh, Armagh and County Down, Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011.
Newry ...
,
County Down, and took over the running of the family newspaper business in the 1960s and He played soccer for
Dundalk F.C.
Dundalk Football Club ( ; ga, Cumann Peile Dhún Dealgan) is a professional association football club that competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top tier of football in the Republic of Ireland. The club is based in Dundalk ...
in the Premier Division for a number of years.
Political career
McGahon succeeded his cousin Hugh, on Dundalk Town Council and on
Louth County Council
Louth County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Lú) is the authority responsible for local government in County Louth, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and c ...
at the
1979 local elections. McGahon was an unsuccessful candidate at the
1981 general election and at the
February 1982 general election. He was first elected to
Dáil Éireann for Louth at the
November 1982 general election, defeating incumbent Fine Gael TD,
Bernard Markey.
He was re-elected at the next five general elections.
A notable aspect of his political career was his stand against the Provisional IRA when that organisation's campaign of violence was at its height. At great personal risk he refused to close his newsagents shop in Dundalk during the funerals of the hunger strikers in 1981. He took another huge risk a few years later when he gave evidence in the
High Court is support of the ''Sunday Times'', which was being sued for libel by
Thomas Murphy for accusing him of directing an IRA bombing campaign in Britain. Local gardaà were ordered not to get involved in that case but McGahon was not deterred from giving evidence that helped the newspaper to defend the claims being made against it by Murphy.
A maverick and outspoken TD he was known to speak his mind on many issues including divorce, crime, and single mothers. He once advocated that paedophiles should be castrated as part of their prison sentence and was the only TD to oppose the
referendum to abolish the death penalty from the Constitution. He also argued that those aged under 21 years of age should not be able to drive or drink, he was a member of the World anti-Communist League and opposed the decriminalisation of homosexuality.
In 1993, he was the only TD to oppose the decriminalisation of
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...
and said in the Dail that:
On the other hand, he spoke out strongly against the influence of the drink industry and defied his own party whip to vote with his left-wing friend Tony Gregory in favour of banning of hare-coursing. He was also on good personal terms with members of the Oireachtas such as
Michael D. Higgins
Michael Daniel Higgins ( ga, MÃcheál Dónal Ó hUigÃnn; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, who has served as the ninth president of Ireland since November 2011. Entering national politics throug ...
and
David Norris despite holding fundamentally opposed views to them.
He did not contest the
2002 general election and retired from politics.
Personal life
McGahon lived in
Ravensdale, County Louth
Ravensdale (Irish: ''Gleann na bhFiach''. Also sometimes known in Irish as ''Dubhleargaidh'' or ''An Dúleargaidh'', which can be anglicised as Doolargy) is a hamlet and area located at the foothills of the Cooley Mountains on the Cooley Peninsu ...
. His son Conor was a
Louth County Council
Louth County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Lú) is the authority responsible for local government in County Louth, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and c ...
lor from 1991 to 1999 and his brother Johnny was a Louth County Councillor from 1995 to 2004. Johnny's son
John McGahon was elected to Louth County Council at the
2014 local elections and to
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house).
It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...
in
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGahon, Brendan
1936 births
2017 deaths
Conservatism in Ireland
Fine Gael TDs
Irish anti-communists
Local councillors in County Louth
Members of the 24th Dáil
Members of the 25th Dáil
Members of the 26th Dáil
Members of the 27th Dáil
Members of the 28th Dáil
People educated at St Mary's College, Dundalk
People from Dundalk