James Bannon (born 6 March 1958) is a former 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 � ...

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 Longford–Westmeath constituency from 2007 to 2016. He was 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 ...

for the

Industrial and Commercial Panel The Industrial and Commercial Panel ( ga, An Rolla Tionscail Agus Tráchtála) 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 In ...

from 2002 to 2007. A native of Legan,

County Longford County Longford ( gle, Contae an Longfoirt) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 46,6 ...

, he worked as a farmer and auctioneer before entering politics. He was first elected to

Longford County Council Longford County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae an Longfoirt) is the authority responsible for local government in County Longford, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for ...

at the 1985 local elections for the

Ballymahon Ballymahon () on the River Inny is a town in the southern part of County Longford, Ireland. It is located at the junction of the N55 National secondary road and the R392 regional road. History Ballymahon derives its name from the Irish lang ...

local electoral area, and was successively re-elected to the County Council at the

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

and 1999 local elections, receiving the largest number of

first-preference votes In certain ranked-voting systems, a first-preference vote (or first preference, 1st preference, or primary vote) is the individual voter's first choice amongst (possibly) many. In certain ranked systems such as Instant-Runoff Voting or Single T ...

in the electoral area on each occasion. He has served as Chairperson of Longford County Council, becoming the youngest person ever to do so. In 2002, he was 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 ...

as a Fine Gael candidate for the

. He stood down as a member of Longford County Council when legislation was introduced prohibiting serving members of the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...

from being members of local authorities, and was succeeded by his brother, Larry. He was first elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

at the 2007 general election for Longford–Westmeath. He served as the party deputy Spokesperson on Environment, with special responsibility for Heritage from 2007 to 2010. In October 2010, he was appointed as deputy spokesperson on Environment with special responsibility for Local and Community Development. In 2012, he asked Bishop Colm O'Reilly to reconsider selecting an Italian organ maker to rebuild the organ in St Mel's Cathedral in

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

. During campaigning ahead of the 2016 general election, Gardaí gave Bannon a lift after he became involved in a dispute while canvassing in the Creevaghbeg estate area in

, County Longford. An associate of Bannon was reported to have stolen election leaflets belonging to a rival candidate from local letter boxes. He lost his seat at the 2016 general election. He subsequently failed to gain re-election to

in April 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bannon, James 1958 births Living people Fine Gael TDs Irish auctioneers 20th-century Irish farmers Local councillors in County Longford Members of the 22nd Seanad Members of the 30th Dáil Members of the 31st Dáil Fine Gael senators 21st-century Irish farmers