Fearghal McKinney (born 6 July 1962 in Derry,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

)Fearghal McKinney's profile on u.tv
WebArchive.org is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

politician and former journalist. A member of the

Social Democratic and Labour Party The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland ...

(SDLP), he sat in the Northern Ireland Assembly as a

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. ...

(MLA) for South Belfast from 2013 until his defeat at the 2016 Assembly election. He was deputy leader of the SDLP from 2015 to 2016.

Broadcasting career

McKinney was a reporter and presenter on '' UTV Live'', joining the station in 1994. Before joining UTV, he was a journalist at

The Impartial Reporter The ''Impartial Reporter'' is a newspaper based in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland which is circulated in Fermanagh, South Tyrone and the border counties of the Republic of Ireland. It is the 3rd-oldest newspaper in Ireland, an ...

in his hometown of

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,823 a ...

and

Downtown Radio Downtown Radio is a Hot Adult Contemporary music radio station based in Newtownards, County Down, that serves all of Northern Ireland using a network of AM, FM and DAB transmitters. As of December 2022, the station has a weekly audience of 3 ...

."Interview: So who cut your hair, son?"
Belfast Telegraph, 2 April 2003; accessed 16 June 2008 McKinney was educated at St Michael's College, Enniskillen. In addition to his work for ''UTV Live'', McKinney presented the series ''Sunday Issue'' and ''The Issue'' for UTV from 2003 to 2004. He has also reported on, introduced television debates about, and co-hosted UTV's coverage of local and general elections. McKinney was nominated in 2006 for the RTS Award for Nations and Regions Presenter. In January 2009, McKinney announced his departure from UTV, and left the station that month.

Political career

McKinney unsuccessfully contested the

Parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

of Fermanagh and South Tyrone in the 2010 Westminster general election for the

. He was selected to replace Conall McDevitt as MLA for South Belfast and became an MLA on 16 September 2013. McKinney was appointed SDLP Health Spokesperson sitting on the Committee for Health, Social Services and Public Safety. He was also a member of the Committee for Enterprise, Trade and Investment. On 14 November 2015, he was elected deputy leader of the SDLP. After becoming an MLA, McKinney raised a number of health issues within the Northern Ireland Assembly including the introduction of amendments to ban smoking in cars with children. He also tabled a number of motions for debate on the Transforming Your Care plan, on older people's care, autism services, and mental health services. On 25 June 2015, McKinney was selected as an SDLP candidate for South Belfast in the Northern Ireland Assembly election on 5 May 2016, but he was unsuccessful in defending the seat he inherited from Conall McDevitt.

Personal life

McKinney is married with three children and lives in Belfast.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKinney, Fearghal Living people 1962 births Television presenters from Northern Ireland Journalists from Northern Ireland UTV (TV channel) Northern Ireland MLAs 2011–2016 People educated at St Michael's College, Enniskillen Politicians from Derry (city) Social Democratic and Labour Party MLAs