Darren O'Rourke is an Irish

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 Gri ...

politician who has been 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

Meath East Meath may refer to: General *County Meath, Republic of Ireland **Kingdom of Meath, medieval precursor of the county ** List of kings of Meath **Meath GAA, including the intercounty football and hurling teams **Diocese of Meath, in the Roman Catholi ...

constituency at the

2020 general election The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2020. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems maintains a comprehensive list of upcoming elections on its E-Guide Platform. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calend ...

Background

Originally from Kells, O'Rourke trained in Dublin Institute of Technology and holds a number of master's degrees from Trinity College Dublin and the

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a medical professional and educational institution, which is also known as RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ireland's first private university. It was established in 1784 ...

. He was a medical scientist at

St. James's Hospital St. James's Hospital ''Confirms spelling of name as "James's" and Irish name'' ( ga, Ospidéal Naomh Séamas) is a teaching hospital in Dublin, Ireland. Its academic partner is Trinity College Dublin. It is managed by Dublin Midlands Hospital G ...

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 ...

Political career

O'Rourke was previously a policy advisor to

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (; born 18 September 1953) is a former Irish Sinn Féin politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cavan–Monaghan constituency from 1997 to 2020. Ó Caoláin's victory in 1997 made him the first member of Sin ...

TD. He was the Sinn Féin candidate at the 2013 Meath East by-election, which was won by

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 � ...

Helen McEntee Helen McEntee (born 8 June 1986) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Minister for Justice from June 2020 to November 2022. From April to November 2021, she became a minister without portfolio during a period of maternity leave. S ...

. He was unsuccessful again at the 2016 general election, but at the

he topped the poll with 24.37% of the first-preference votes, and was elected on the second count. He was a member of Meath County Council for the Ashbourne local electoral area from 2014 to 2020. Aisling Ó Néill was co-opted to O'Rourke's seat on Meath County Council following his election to the Dáil. In 2022, O'Rourke put forward a bill to require all pharmaceutical companies to make their payments to healthcare organisations and professionals public in a register.

References

External links

Darren O'Rourke's page on the Sinn Féin website
{{DEFAULTSORT:ORourke, Darren Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Alumni of Dublin Business School Alumni of Dublin Institute of Technology Alumni of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Members of Meath County Council Members of the 33rd Dáil Sinn Féin TDs (post-1923)