Fintan Warfield (born 1992) 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 G ...
politician who has served as a
Senator for the
Cultural and Educational Panel
The Cultural and Educational Panel () is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Cultural and Educational Panel elects five ...
since April 2016.
As of 2017, he was the youngest senator in Ireland.
Early life and education
Warfield attended
St Mac Dara's Community College. He was a
Gaelic footballer
Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
for
St Jude's, a sport he has also played with Dublin Devils F.C., as well as being a supporter of
St Patrick's Athletic. At 17, Warfield moved to
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...
where he graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
in Film & Television from
Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology
The Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT; ga, Institúid Teicneolaíochta na Gaillimhe-Maigh Eo) was an institute of technology, located in Galway, Ireland. In April 2022, it was formally dissolved, and its functions were transferred to ...
(GMIT) in 2012. He moved back to Dublin upon graduation.
Career
Warfield was the Mayor of
South Dublin County Council
South Dublin County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Átha Cliath Theas) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of South Dublin, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities created by the Local Government (Dublin) Act ...
from 2014 to 2015, and is an openly gay LGBT activist. He donated 10% of his mayoral salary to a women's refuge, LGBT group
BeLonG To
BeLonG To is an LGBT youth organisation in Ireland which caters for young people aged between 14–23 years. It is a registered charity and is supported by the Irish Department of Education. The service was set up in March 2003.
The group rece ...
and Citywise (known for providing youths with educational support in Jobstown).
Warfield was the first senator in the country to be elected in the 2016 Seanad elections, topping the poll on the Cultural and Educational Panel on 25 April 2016. He also won the most first preference votes of any candidate contesting the five vocational panel elections.
Since his election to the Seanad, he has tabled two legislative bills: The Electoral (Amendment) (Voting at 16) Bill 2016, which aimed to lower the voting age to sixteen in local and European elections; and the Gender Recognition (Amendment) Bill 2017, which aimed to give gender identity rights to
non-binary
Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...
and
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...
young people.
He is the Sinn Féin Seanad Spokesperson on Youth affairs, LGBT rights and the Arts.
On 31 March 2020, Warfield was re-elected 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 ...
following the
2020 election to the upper house.
In July 2020, Warfield made reports to the
Garda Siochána
Garda may refer to:
* Police, known as Garda in Hiberno-English
* Garda (security company), a security and protection company headquartered in Montreal, Canada
* Garda Síochána, the national police of the Republic of Ireland
* Garda National Su ...
following escalating online and offline homophobic harassment and abuse that started to extend to threats against members of his family. This came after he had made a speech in the Seanad in support of
transgender rights
A transgender person is someone whose gender identity is inconsistent or not culturally associated with the sex they were assigned at birth and also with the gender role that is associated with that sex. They may have, or may intend to establi ...
, but also in the same time period as an extended bout of harassment against
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
TD
Roderic O'Gorman
Roderic O'Gorman (born 12 December 1981) is an Irish Green Party politician who has served as Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth since June 2020. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin West constituency s ...
, who is also openly gay.
Personal life
A former full-time musician, he plays guitar and sings. He is a cousin of
Derek Warfield
Derek Warfield (born 15 September 1943) is an Irish singer, songwriter, historian, and a former member of the musical group The Wolfe Tones.
Personal life
Born in the Dublin suburb Inchicore, Warfield was educated at Synge Street CBS. He was a ...
and
Brian Warfield
Patrick Brian Warfield (born 2 April 1946, Holles Street, Dublin) is the vocalist, banjo, harp and bodhrán player and lead songwriter with long-standing Irish band The Wolfe Tones. Brian introduces many of the songs at the Wolfe Tones live conc ...
(musicians with
The Wolfe Tones
The Wolfe Tones are an Irish rebel music band that incorporate Irish traditional music in their songs. Formed in 1963, they take their name from Theobald Wolfe Tone, one of the leaders of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, with the double meaning of ...
) and performed with them, touring in the United States.
He is on the board of the Civic Theatre.
References
External links
Fintan Warfield's page on the Sinn Féin website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warfield, Fintan
1992 births
Living people
Alumni of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology
Gay singers
Gay politicians
Irish folk singers
Irish male guitarists
Irish LGBT singers
Irish gay musicians
LGBT legislators in Ireland
LGBT mayors
Members of South Dublin County Council
Mayors of places in the Republic of Ireland
Members of the 25th Seanad
Members of the 26th Seanad
Sinn Féin senators
St Jude's Gaelic footballers
21st-century guitarists
21st-century Irish male singers
21st-century Irish LGBT people
Sinn Féin local councillors in the Republic of Ireland
Cultural and Educational Panel senators