Paul McGrath (born 13 February 1948) is an Irish former

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 � ...

politician. He was a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...

(TD) for Longford–Westmeath and

Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...

constituencies from 1989 to 2007. McGrath, a native of Ballymore, County Westmeath was educated at

St Finian's College St Finian's College is a secondary school, the diocesan school of the Diocese of Meath. It is located in Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland, and is under the patronage of The Most Reverend Thomas Deenihan, Bishop of Meath. Rev. Fr. Paul Co ...

Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, with a population of 20,928 in the 2016 census. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 proclaimed Westmeath ...

and at Leeds Trinity and All Saints College. Prior to entering national politics, he worked as a primary schoolteacher in County Westmeath. McGrath was elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1989 general election as a Fine Gael candidate in the Longford–Westmeath constituency, replacing the retiring Fine Gael TD,

Patrick Cooney Patrick Mark Cooney (born 2 March 1931) is a former Irish Fine Gael politician who served as a government minister in the cabinets of Liam Cosgrave (1973–1977) and Garret FitzGerald (1981–1982 and 1982–1987). He served as a Member of the ...

. He retained his seat in all subsequent elections, which since the 1992 general election has been part of the Westmeath constituency. In 1991, he was elected as a member of

Westmeath County Council Westmeath County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae na hIarmhí) is the authority responsible for local government in County Westmeath, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible fo ...

and Mullingar Town Council, and was a member of both bodies until his retirement from local politics in 2002. In Dáil Éireann, he served as Fine Gael spokesperson on Public Works from 1993 to 1994 and as front bench spokesperson on Education in 1994, while Fine Gael were in opposition. During Fine Gael's period in government between 1995 and 1997, he was not appointed as a senior or junior minister, but was chairperson of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Family between 1995 and 1997. In 1993 McGrath spoke against the decriminalisation of homosexuality. In the debate he remarked that "if this Bill is passed, I am concerned about the possible effect on Irish society. Will we now see exhibitions in public by homosexuals holding hands, kissing, cuddling, etc? Is homosexual behaviour to be put on a par with heterosexual behaviour?". In the

29th Dáil 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

elected in 2002, he was a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance and the Committee on the Houses of the Oireachtas, as well as being Fine Gael's deputy spokesperson on Finance. In 2005, his Westmeath constituency was re-constituted into the new Longford–Westmeath constituency. In an unexpected move, McGrath retired at the 2007 general election. Among the reasons cited were his age, his dissatisfaction with Fine Gael's proposed candidate selection strategy in the new constituency, and that he felt it unlikely that he would be chosen as a minister if Fine Gael were returned to government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Paul 1948 births Living people Fine Gael TDs Members of the 26th Dáil Members of the 27th Dáil Members of the 28th Dáil Members of the 29th Dáil Members of Westmeath County Council Irish schoolteachers Alumni of Leeds Trinity University People educated at St Finian's College