Michael Canavan (born October 1924) is a former

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 cu ...

business owner and politician. Born in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

, Canavan studied at

St Columb's College St Columb's College ( ga, Coláiste Naomh Colum Cille) is a Roman Catholic boys' grammar school in Derry, Northern Ireland and, since 2008, a specialist school in mathematics. It is named after Saint Columba, the missionary monk from County Don ...

in the city before entering business.Ted Nealon, ''Ireland: a Parliamentary Directory, 1973–1974'', p.199 By the 1960s, he owned a chain of

bookmakers A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookma ...

, a salmon-processing factory and a pub in the city.Peter Pringle and Philip Jacobson, ''Those are Real Bullets, Aren't They?'', p.31 He was treasurer of the

University for Derry Committee {{EngvarB, date=March 2020 The University for Derry Committee or University for Derry Action Committee was a group campaigning for the New University of Ulster to be located in the city of Derry. Background In 1963, John Lockwood was commissioned ...

in 1965, and worked with

John Hume John Hume (18 January 19373 August 2020) was an Irish nationalist politician from Northern Ireland, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the recent political history of Ireland, as one of the architects of the Northern Irela ...

to try to attract industry to the area. An advocate of

credit union A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including depo ...

s, Canavan founded the Derry Credit Union with Hume and chaired it from 1963 to 1966, following which he spent a year as a director of the

Irish League of Credit Unions The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) (Irish: Conradh na hÉireann de Chomhair Chreidmheasa) is a trade association for credit unions in Ireland. It operates in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is an unincorporated body g ...

. In 1968, he was elected as Chairman of the Derry Citizens' Action Committee, and was subsequently prominent in the Derry Citizens' Defence Association and chaired the Derry Citizens' Central Council. Canavan entered electoral politics as campaign manager for Hume at the

1969 Northern Ireland general election The 1969 Northern Ireland general election was held on Monday 24 February 1969. It was the last election to the Parliament of Northern Ireland before its abolition by the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973. Unlike previous elections that p ...

. Hume stood in Foyle as an independent and was elected. The following year, Canavan was a founder member of

Social Democratic and Labour Party The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland ...

(SDLP), and served as its security spokesman for many years. At the

1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. P ...

, he was elected for Londonderry, and he held his seat in 1975 on the

Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention (NICC) was an elected body set up in 1975 by the United Kingdom Labour government of Harold Wilson as an attempt to deal with constitutional issues surrounding the status of Northern Ireland. For ...

. However, he decided not to stand in the 1982 Assembly election, instead calling for the party to boycott to vote because there was no power-sharing in the proposed assembly. He remained active in the SDLP for some time, and chaired Derry's civic committee during the mid-1980s. Canavan turned 90 in October 2014. His brother Ivor was a prominent member of the

Alliance Party of Northern Ireland The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), or simply Alliance, is a liberal and centrist political party in Northern Ireland. As of the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, it is the third-largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly, ...

.Niall Ó Dochartaigh, ''From Civil Rights to Armalites'', p.100

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canavan, Michael 1924 births Living people Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1973–1974 Members of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention People educated at St Columb's College Politicians from Derry (city) Social Democratic and Labour Party politicians