John David Alexander Robb (24 February 1932 – 13 February 2018) was a surgeon from
Ballymoney
Ballymoney ( ga, Baile Monaidh , meaning 'townland of the moor') is a small town and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area. The civil parish of Ballymoney is situated in ...
in
County Antrim
County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...
,
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 ...
who served for seven years a member of
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 ...
, the upper house 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 ...
(the legislature of the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
).
Career
A liberal
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
in the all-Ireland tradition,
Robb was educated at
Rockport School
Rockport School is an independent day and boarding school for boys and girls from 2.5 years to 18 years in the British Public School tradition. It is situated in of woodland on the shore of Belfast Lough in Craigavad, near Holywood, County ...
,
Holywood, County Down
Holywood ( ) (Irish: ''Ard Mhic Nasca'', meaning 'Height of the Son of Nasca'. Latin: ''Sanctus Boscus'', meaning 'Holy Wood') is a town in the metropolitan area of Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a civil parish and townland of 7 ...
, and at
Merchiston Castle School
Merchiston Castle School is an independent boarding school for boys in the suburb of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has around 470 pupils and is open to boys between the ages of 7 and 18 as either boarding or day pupils; it was modelled a ...
,
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
. He then trained in medicine at
Queen's University, Belfast
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and later specialised in surgery.
[
Later, he became a member of the ]Wolfe Tone Society
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, image = File:Portrait of Theobald Wolfe Tone.PNG
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, caption = Wolfe Tone, 20 June 1763 – 19 November 1798
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in the 1960s, and in the early 1980s he founded the New Ireland Group The New Ireland Group (now known as New Ireland Vision) was formed in 1982, seeking political and social reconciliation in Ireland, and the formation of an Ireland accommodating both the Gaelic Irish and Unionist traditions. The group predominantly ...
, which sought to promote a new vision of Ireland which would radically differ both from the Unionist viewpoint and from the Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and Gaelic vision which was then perceived to be on offer as an alternative to Unionism.
In 1982, he was nominated by the Taoiseach
A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example:
* to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs.
* t ...
Charles Haughey
Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...
to be a member of the 16th Seanad
This is a list of the members of the 16th Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These Senators were elected or appointed in 1982, after the February 1982 general election and served until the close of poll ...
. He was nominated to the 17th Seanad
This is a list of the members of the 17th Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These Senators were elected or appointed in 1983, after the November 1982 general election and served until the close of pol ...
by the 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 à ...
Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald
Garret Desmond FitzGerald (9 February 192619 May 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, economist and barrister who served twice as Taoiseach, serving from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. He served as Leader of Fine Gael from 1977 to 1987, and ...
, and by Haughey to the 18th Seanad. After the 1989 general election he was not nominated to the 19th Seanad.
He died on 13 February 2018.
References
External links
New Ireland Group
1930s births
2018 deaths
Protestants from Northern Ireland
Surgeons from Northern Ireland
Medical doctors from County Antrim
Members of the 16th Seanad
Members of the 17th Seanad
Members of the 18th Seanad
People from Ballymoney
People educated at Merchiston Castle School
People educated at Rockport School
Alumni of Queen's University Belfast
Nominated members of Seanad Éireann
Independent members of Seanad Éireann
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