James Heffernan (born 3 October 1979) is a former Irish Labour Party politician.

Background

He is from a Limerick hurling family, with his father and brother, both called Pat, having played for the county. Heffernan was heavily involved with

Labour Youth Labour Youth is the youth wing of the Labour Party of Ireland. Membership is open to those aged from 16 to 30 years old. History 1979–2000 Labour Youth succeeded the Young Labour League as a full section of the Party in 1979, under Party ...

during his time in university, serving on the organisation's internal disciplinary committee.

Career

Primary-school teacher

A graduate of the University of Limerick, Heffernan was a primary school teacher by profession. Before becoming a full-time politician in around 2009, Heffernan taught in a number of schools, including St Anne's in Whitechapel, London.

Labour politician

He was a candidate at 2007 general election for the

Limerick West Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 c ...

constituency. He was a member of Limerick County Council from 2009 to 2011 for the

Kilmallock Kilmallock () is a town in south County Limerick, Ireland, near the border with County Cork. There is a Dominican Priory in the town and King's Castle (or King John's Castle). The remains of medieval walls which encircled the settlement are st ...

local electoral area. He was a candidate at the 2011 general election for the

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

constituency, polling 7,910 first preference votes (17.5%). He was elected to the 24th Seanad in April 2011 on the

Agricultural Panel The Agricultural 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 Agricultural Panel elects eleven senators. Election Art ...

for the Labour Party. He lost the parliamentary Labour Party whip in December 2012 after voting against the government on the Social Welfare Bill. The loss of the whip resulted in a falloff in Heffernan's Seanad voting attendance. In September 2013, it was reported that Heffernan attended only 23% of all votes in the Seanad, the second worst record.

Social Democrats

In February 2015, he claimed he was forming a new political party in order to oppose

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 Gr ...

. On 4 September 2015, the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

announced that Heffernan was one of their five election candidates.

Anti-social behaviour

Between 31 July 31 and 2 August 2016, Heffernan was allegedly arrested 3 times for offences including spitting at Gardaí, and drunken behaviour while attending

Indiependence INDIEPENDENCE is a festival "weekender" which takes place on the outskirts of Mitchelstown in northern County Cork, typically on the August Bank Holiday weekend. The festival features a variety of artists as well as comedy, spoken word, a small ...

Music & Arts Festival in Mitchelstown, County Cork. In January 2019, he was found guilty of assaulting three Gardaí after he was arrested outside Indiependence in August 2016. In April 2019, Heffernan was imprisoned for three months for the assault. In 2020 he was accused of stealing a book on parliamentary debates, as well as a coat, from the Stephens Green Club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heffernan, James 1979 births Living people Alumni of the University of Limerick Independent members of Seanad Éireann Irish schoolteachers Members of the 24th Seanad Labour Party (Ireland) senators Local councillors in County Limerick Politicians from County Limerick Social Democrats (Ireland) politicians