Joseph Kevin McNamara (5 September 1934 – 6 August 2017) was a British

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

politician who served as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for almost 40 years.

Early life

He was educated by the

Irish Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. Their first school was opened in Waterford, Ireland, ...

at St Mary's College, Crosby. He studied for an

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

at the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hull ...

. He was head of department in History at St Mary's Grammar School (now called St Mary's College) in Hull from 1958–64 and a Law lecturer at Hull College of Commerce from 1964–66.

Parliamentary career

After unsuccessfully contesting

Bridlington Bridlington is a coastal town and a civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is about north of Hull and east of York. The Gypsey Race enters the North Sea at its harbour. The 2011 Cen ...

in 1964, McNamara was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

as Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston upon Hull North, in a by-election in January 1966 following the death of sitting Labour MP

Henry Solomons Henry Solomons (7 November 1902 – 7 November 1965) was a British businessman, trade unionist and Labour Party politician who briefly enjoyed a Parliamentary career. Early career Solomons was born in London and educated at London County Counc ...

. Labour's hold of a former marginal seat with a significantly increased majority is widely considered to have helped to convince the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

to call the 1966 election to seek a larger majority. McNamara retained his seat at the 1966 general election, and at subsequent elections until the constituency was abolished for the February 1974 general election, when he transferred to the new Kingston upon Hull Central constituency. When that constituency was abolished for the 1983 election, McNamara was re-elected for the re-created Kingston upon Hull North constituency. McNamara campaigned in his last years in parliament on many issues, protesting against the Act of Succession which prohibits a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

or the spouse of a Roman Catholic to be the British monarch. He stepped down at the 2005 general election, with the local

Constituency Labour Party __NOTOC__ A constituency Labour Party (CLP) is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular parliamentary constituency. In England and Wales, CLP boundaries coincide with those for UK parliamentary constituenc ...

choosing

Diana Johnson Dame Diana Ruth Johnson (born 25 July 1966) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston upon Hull North since the 2005 general election. A member of the Labour Party, she was elected as Chair of the ...

to stand in his place. During the 2005 general election campaign McNamara claimed some of the policies regarding illegal travellers' sites of the leader of the Conservative Party,

Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posi ...

had "whiff of the gas chambers" about them. Howard's grandmother was murdered at Auschwitz.

Northern Ireland

McNamara was known throughout his parliamentary career as a supporter of

Irish nationalism 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 cu ...

who favoured a

United Ireland United Ireland, also referred to as Irish reunification, is the proposition that all of Ireland should be a single sovereign state. At present, the island is divided politically; the sovereign Republic of Ireland has jurisdiction over the maj ...

. After entering parliament, he soon became interested in reports of discrimination against the Catholic minority in

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 ...

and supported the

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(CDU). He served as a frontbench spokesman for the Labour Party, including Shadow

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

under

Neil Kinnock Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock (born 28 March 1942) is a British former politician. As a member of the Labour Party, he served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995, first for Bedwellty and then for Islwyn. He was the Leader of ...

, 1987–94, an appointment that was widely criticised by Unionists. After

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

became Labour leader, he replaced McNamara as Northern Ireland spokesman with

Mo Mowlam Dr Marjorie "Mo" Mowlam (18 September 1949 – 19 August 2005) was a British Labour Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Redcar from 1987 to 2001 and served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Mini ...

. In 1997, he helped persuade the newly elected Labour government to donate £5,000 (thereby matching the contribution of the Irish government) for the erection of a memorial in Liverpool to the victims of the Great Irish Famine. McNamara also supported

Republicanism in the United Kingdom Republicanism in the United Kingdom is the political movement that seeks to replace the United Kingdom's monarchy with a republic. Supporters of the movement, called republicans, support alternative forms of governance to a monarchy, such as an e ...

and joined the All-Party Parliamentary Republic Group.

Personal and later life

McNamara was a

and a Knight of the Pontifical Order of Saint Gregory the Great. He was married to Nora McNamara, and was the father of four sons and a daughter. In 2006, McNamara received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Hull in recognition of his long service in politics. He graduated with a PhD from the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

in 2007 having completed a thesis on the MacBride Principles at the Institute of Irish Studies, where he gave the 2008 John Kennedy Lecture in Irish Studies, '.

Illness and death

In 2017, McNamara was diagnosed with

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

while on holiday in Spain. On 6 August, it was reported that he had died, aged 82.

References

External links

*
Retirement

The Times, 22 March 2005

Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool

BBC Vote 2001, candidate biographies

* ttp://www.hull.ac.uk/news/july06/degreeceremonyjuly06.html University of Hull, News Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:McNamara, Kevin 1934 births 2017 deaths Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Transport and General Workers' Union-sponsored MPs UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 English people of Irish descent People educated at St Mary's College, Crosby British Roman Catholics British republicans Knights of St. Gregory the Great People from Crosby, Merseyside Place of birth missing