Brian Donal Crowley (born 4 March 1964) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

constituency from 1994 to 2019. He served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from 1993 to 1994, after being

nominated by the Taoiseach A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

Early and personal life

Crowley was born in Blackrock, Dublin in 1964, but was raised in Bandon, County Cork, where he attended Hamilton High School. He received a diploma in law in 1993 from University College Cork. His father, Flor Crowley, served as a TD for various Cork constituencies for most of the period between the 1965 general election and the February 1982 election. Crowley is a wheelchair-user as a result of an accident at age 16.

Politics

In 1993, he was

Albert Reynolds to the

20th Seanad Éireann This is a list of the members of the 20th Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These Senators were elected or appointed in 1993, after the 1992 general election and served until the close of poll for th ...

. At the

1994 European Parliament election The 1994 European Parliamentary election was a European election held across the 12 European Union member states in June 1994. This election saw the merge of the European People's Party and European Democrats, an increase in the overall number ...

he was elected to the European Parliament for the Munster constituency. He retained his seat at the three subsequent elections. He was a member of Ireland's Council of State from 1997 to 2004,

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) is a committee of the European Parliament. Its areas of responsibility relate to industry, especially technology-intensive manufacturing, information technology, and telecommunications. It also ...

and the delegation for relations with the United States. Crowley also served as a substitute member of the Committee on Legal Affairs. Crowley stated in an interview with '' The Irish Times'' on 29 September 2008 that he would like to run for President of Ireland at the 2011 presidential election. On 12 February 2009, the Committee on Legal Affairs of the European Parliament approved a report drafted by Brian Crowley to extend the copyright term of music recordings from 50 years to 95 years. He was co-president of the Union for Europe of the Nations until 2009, when Fianna Fáil joined the ALDE group. In June 2011, Crowley refused to release details of his expense and allowance claims as a member of the European Parliament. Again in July 2011, Crowley declared to Fianna Fáil party colleagues, that he was available to run for the presidency, but had been advised by party colleague Fianna Fáil TD Willie O'Dea not to seek his party's nomination. In the context of failure to be nominated for the presidential election by his party, Crowley withdrew his candidature for the nomination. From 2011 to 2013, Crowley had trouble with sores on his legs arising from his paralysis. These required repeated treatment which kept him out of the public eye. In July 2013, he said his health was improved and he intended to run for re-election in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. In June 2014, he joined the

European Conservatives and Reformists The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) is a soft Eurosceptic, anti- federalist political group of the European Parliament. The ECR is the parliamentary group of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party) European pol ...

group in the European Parliament, against the wishes of the Fianna Fáil leadership. He lost the Fianna Fáil party whip on 24 June 2014. Fianna Fáil stated that the principles of the ECR group were incompatible with the party. In December 2015, concerns were raised about Crowley's frequent absence from the European Parliament due to ill health. A news report in May 2016 stated that Crowley had failed to attend any votes since being re-elected over two years previously. In March 2018, Politico Europe included him in their list of "The 20 MEPs who matter, for the wrong reasons". In June 2018, the ''

Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ...

'' reported that Crowley had not voted in the Parliament since his re-election on 2014. He did not cast a single vote in the 2014 to 2019 session. On 17 January 2019, Crowley announced at a news conference that he would not seek re-election in the European elections in May 2019, and would be retiring from public life.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crowley, Brian 1964 births Living people Fianna Fáil MEPs Fianna Fáil senators Independent MEPs for Ireland Members of the 20th Seanad MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 1994–1999 MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 1999–2004 MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 2004–2009 MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 2009–2014 MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 2014–2019 Politicians from County Cork Politicians with paraplegia Irish politicians with disabilities Presidential appointees to the Council of State (Ireland) Nominated members of Seanad Éireann People from Bandon, County Cork People from Blackrock, Dublin Wheelchair users

Early and personal life

Politics

See also

References

External links