Paschal Canice Mooney (born 14 October 1947) is an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
politician and a former 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 ...
.
A journalist and broadcaster, he was first elected to the Seanad in 1987, on the
Cultural and Educational Panel
The Cultural and Educational 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 Cultural and Educational Panel elects five ...
. He retained his seat at each subsequent election until losing it at the 2007 election to the
23rd Seanad
This is a list of the members of the 23rd Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These Senators were elected from 24 July 2007 onwards after postal voting closed. The Taoiseach's nominees were announced on ...
. He was re-elected to Seanad Éireann 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 ...
in a Seanad by-election on 19 January 2010.,
re-elected in 2011, but lost his seat in the April 2016 election.
Early and personal life
Born in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
,
he grew up in
Drumshanbo
Drumshanbo (, ridge of the old huts) is a small town situated in the heart of County Leitrim, Ireland. Drumshanbo is surrounded by a scenic area of soft rolling hills, woodlands, lakes and the Sliabh an Iarainn and Arigna mountains. It is a wel ...
,
County Leitrim
County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...
. His father,
Joe
Joe or JOE may refer to:
Arts
Film and television
* ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle
* ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage
* ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971
* ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...
, was a member of the Seanad (1961–65) and
Leitrim County Council
Leitrim County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae Liatroma) is the authority responsible for local government in County Leitrim, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing ...
(1943–88) while his mother Eva Mooney also served as a member of Leitrim County Council (1988–91). He is the third generation of his family to contribute to public service locally and nationally as his grandfather, Andrew Mooney, served as a member of Leitrim County Council from 1920 to 1943.
Mooney has also enjoyed a broadcasting career with
RTÉ
(RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...
, Ireland's national broadcaster. A presenter of a variety of Irish traditional and country music and Sports programmes, he devised, scripted and presented numerous music documentaries on Irish and American country music stars. He was in the forefront of the '
Shot at Dawn
''Shot at Dawn'' is a 1934 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street. It is the nineteenth in his long-running series of novels featuring Lancelot Priestley, a Golden Age armchair detective.
Synopsis
A mo ...
' campaign led in the
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England.
The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...
by
Andrew MacKinlay
Andrew Stuart MacKinlay (born 24 April 1949) is a British Liberal Democrat politician, who was the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Thurrock from 1992 until he stepped down at the 2010 general election.
In parliament MacKinlay built a ...
MP and in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
by
Alf Dubs
Alfred Dubs, Baron Dubs (born 5 December 1932) is a British Labour politician and former Member of Parliament.
Early life and education
Born in Prague in what was then Czechoslovakia, Dubs was one of 669 Czech-resident, mainly Jewish, childr ...
seeking a pardon for over 300 soldiers of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
(including 26 Irish servicemen) shot in questionable circumstances following Field
courts-martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
.
Mooney married Sheila Baldrey; the couple has five children.
Political career
He was first elected to the Seanad in 1987, on the
Cultural and Educational Panel
The Cultural and Educational 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 Cultural and Educational Panel elects five ...
as a nominee of the Library Association of Ireland (LAI).
He retained his seat at each subsequent election until losing it in the 2007 election. He was a member of Leitrim County Council from 1991 to 1999. He later served as a delegate to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Western European Union 1998 to 2002, and subsequently was a member of the Irish Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe 2002–08. He was appointed a member of the
British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly
The British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly (BIPA, ga, Tionól Pharlaiminteach na Breataine agus na hÉireann) is a deliberative body consisting of members elected to those national legislative bodies found within Ireland and the United Kingdom ...
(BIPA) in 1997 and served until 2007. Mooney returned to the BIPA in 2011 and also sits on the North/South Parliamentary Body which meets twice yearly in Belfast and Dublin and is the representative of the Stormont Assembly and Oireachtas. In April 2008, Mooney was nominated to the position of Chairman of
Fáilte Ireland
Fáilte Ireland is the operating name of the National Tourism Development Authority of the Republic of Ireland. This authority was established under the National Tourism Development Authority Act of 2003 and replaces and builds upon the functions ...
North West, one of five Regional Tourism Boards in Ireland charged with promoting their regions and attracting tourists.
Mooney was selected as running mate to
Seán Ó Neachtain as a Fianna Fáil candidate at the
2009 European Parliament election
The 2009 European Parliament election was held in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making th ...
for the
North-West constituency. Following the announcement by O'Neachtain that he was not contesting the election due to health reasons,
Pat "the Cope" Gallagher
Pat "the Cope" Gallagher ( ir, Pádraig Ó Gallchóir; born 10 March 1948) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Leas-Cheann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann from 2016 to 2020 and as a Minister of State from 1987 to 1994 and from 20 ...
was nominated to contest the constituency as Mooney's Fianna Fáil running mate. Gallagher was elected as an MEP but Mooney was unsuccessful. On 19 January 2010, Mooney was elected on the first count in a Seanad by-election caused by the death of Senator
Peter Callanan in October 2009. As a result, he took a seat on the Agricultural panel in the 23rd Seanad returning after an absence of two and a half years.
[ He was re-elected at the 2011 Seanad election. He was the Fianna Fáil Seanad spokesperson on Social Protection. He was also a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agricultural and the Joint Committee on Transport, Energy and Communications.
]
See also
*Families in the Oireachtas
There is a tradition in Irish politics of having family members succeed each other, frequently in the same parliamentary seat. This article lists families where two or more members of that family have been members ( TD or Senator) of either of th ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mooney, Paschal
1947 births
Living people
Fianna Fáil senators
Irish sports broadcasters
Local councillors in County Leitrim
Members of the 18th Seanad
Members of the 19th Seanad
Members of the 20th Seanad
Members of the 21st Seanad
Members of the 22nd Seanad
Members of the 23rd Seanad
Members of the 24th Seanad
RTÉ Radio 1 presenters