John Finucane (born 1980) is an Irish

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

politician and solicitor. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Belfast North since the 2019 general election. He has never taken his seat in Westminster, due to his party's longstanding policy of

abstentionism Abstentionism is the political practice of standing for election to a deliberative assembly while refusing to take up any seats won or otherwise participate in the assembly's business. Abstentionism differs from an election boycott in that abs ...

Early life

Finucane is the son of the Irish lawyer Pat Finucane, who was murdered in front of him in 1989 at their family home by

loyalist paramilitaries Ulster loyalism is a strand of Ulster unionism associated with working class Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland. Like other unionists, loyalists support the continued existence of Northern Ireland (and formerly all of Ireland) within the Un ...

, a murder that

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

called "one of the most controversial killings during

The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

". Finucane's father was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

from west Belfast, whilst his mother came from a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

family in east Belfast. Several of Finucane's close relatives on his father's side were members of the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

Political career

At the

2017 United Kingdom general election The 2017 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 8 June 2017, two years after the 2015 United Kingdom general election, previous general election in 2015; it was the first since 1992 United Kingdom general election, 1992 to be held ...

Finucane contested the Belfast North parliamentary constituency for Sinn Féin; the sitting MP was

Nigel Dodds Nigel Alexander Dodds, Baron Dodds of Duncairn, (born 20 August 1958), is a Northern Irish unionist politician and barrister serving as Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in the House of Lords since 2021. He previously served as de ...

of the

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...

. Finucane secured Sinn Féin's highest vote share ever in the constituency but failed to unseat Dodds. In 2019, Finucane ran for

Belfast City Council Belfast City Council () is the Local government in Northern Ireland, local authority with responsibility for part of Belfast, the largest city of Northern Ireland. The council serves an estimated population of (), the largest of any district c ...

in the

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

constituency. Also on the ballot were his former

St Malachy's College St Malachy's College, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is the oldest Catholic diocesan college in Ulster. The college's alumni and students are known as Malachians. History The college, founded by William Crolly, Bishop William Crolly, opened on th ...

classmates

Mal O'Hara Malachai O'Hara (born 28 July 1979) is a Northern Irish politician, activist and community worker who has been the leader of the Green Party Northern Ireland since August 2022, having previously served as deputy leader from 2019 to 2022. O'Hara ...

of the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

and Carl Whyte of the

SDLP The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP; ) is a social democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland Assembly ( MLAs) and two members of Parliament (MPs ...

. Finucane won 1,650 votes, placing him second in the poll behind Nuala McAllister of the Alliance Party. He was consequently elected as a councillor. Finucane was elected as

Lord Mayor of Belfast The Lord Mayor of Belfast is the leader and chairperson of Belfast City Council, elected annually from and by the city's 60 councillors. The Lord Mayor also serves as the representative of the city of Belfast, welcoming guests from across the U ...

in May 2019. Shortly after being elected Lord Mayor at

Belfast City Hall Belfast City Hall (; Ulster-Scots: ) is the civic building of Belfast City Council located in Donegall Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It faces North and effectively divides the commercial and business areas of the city centre. It is a Grad ...

, he was informed by the

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ; Ulster-Scots: '), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it ...

that loyalists had made credible threats to his life and planned to attack his family home. Finucane remarked "I am committed to serving and representing all the people of this city and I will not be deterred from that by threats from anyone." The next day, he welcomed

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...

to the city whilst he was on an official visit. At the

2019 United Kingdom general election The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 12 December 2019, with 47,074,800 registered voters entitled to vote to elect 650 Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Un ...

Finucane again contested Belfast North, winning the seat with 23,078 votes to Dodds's 21,135. He is the first

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...

MP in the history of the constituency. When

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...

revealed Westminster Accounts in January 2023, Finucane was shown to be the highest-earning Northern Irish MP exclusive of Westminster pay (which Finucane does not take due to his party's non-attendance at Westminster). Most of his secondary earnings came from his work as a solicitor with Belfast law firm Finucane Toner.

Personal life

Finucane is goalkeeper and captain of

GAA Gaa may refer to: * Gaa language, a language of Nigeria * gaa, the ISO 639 code for the Ga language of Ghana GAA may stand for: Compounds * Glacial (water-free), acetic acid * Acid alpha-glucosidase, also known as glucosidase, alpha; acid, an e ...

's Lámh Dhearg GAC. He has four children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Finucane, John Living people 21st-century lawyers from Northern Ireland Sinn Féin MPs (post-1921) Lord mayors of Belfast Lámh Dhearg Gaelic footballers UK MPs 2019–2024 UK MPs 2024–present Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Belfast constituencies (since 1922) Sinn Féin councillors in Northern Ireland 1980 births People educated at St Malachy's College