Pól Ó Foighil
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Pól Ó Foighil (1 June 1928 – 21 March 2005) was an Irish politician and activist for Irish-speaking, coastal and island communities. A teacher turned
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manager, he was an active member of the
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party, and as a long-serving councillor he was the party's only elected representative in the
Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...
Gaeltacht A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...
for two decades. He also served as a
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from 1989 to 1993.


Early life and family

Ó Foighil was born in Thurles,
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, and was educated by the Christian Brothers in Thurles and at
University College Galway The University of Galway () is a public university, public research university located in the city of Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Ga ...
(UCG). His first job was as a teacher in the Cois Fharraige area of south Connemara, and he settled in Inverin. He married Chrissie Nic Eoin, and they had seven children. One of their four sons, Éanna, a medical student at UCG, committed suicide in 1982. Ó Foighil later spoke on RTÉ television about the impact of suicide on families.


Activism

Ó Foighil's first community development effort was the establishment of group schemes for water supply, leading to the nickname "fear an uisce". He went on establishing Irish-language summer colleges in Connemara, and to develop co-operatives in Connemara, the
Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; , ) or The Arans ( ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the historic barony (Ireland), barony of Aran in ...
, and Inishbiggle. As manager of the co-op on Inis Meáin, he supervised the construction of a desalination plant on the island, and of a controversial wind farm. The environmentalist and author Tim Robinson opposed the wind turbines, and was accused by Ó Foighil of "giving vent to confrontational heritage attitudes" and of being "hell bent" on the depopulation of Inis Meáin". He also campaigned for a cable-car to link the island of Inishbiggle in
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with the neighbouring Achill Island. Inishbiggle had no ferry service, and the short crossing to the island was frequently impassable due to poor weather, with result that families had to leave the island so that their children could attend school. The government agreed to fund a cable car, but in December 2005 the plan was cancelled in favour of improved piers.


Political career

His first political contest was as an
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candidate at the by-election in 1975 in the Galway West constituency, when he won 7.5% of the votes. In 1979, he joined
Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, 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 Éireann. The party had a member ...
, and stood as Fine Gael candidate at the 1979 local elections, winning seats both on Galway County Council and on Údarás na Gaeltachta. He stood unsuccessfully again for
Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...
at the
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, November 1982 and 1992 general elections. In 1989 he was elected to the 19th Seanad on the
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, serving until 1993. He caused controversy in the Seanad by insisting on wearing the traditional Connemara ' báinín' jacket, and by changing his name to Pól 'Báinín' Ó Foighil. He also fought unsuccessfully to have legislation and official documents made available to him in the
Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
, which under the
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is the first official language. As a councillor, Ó Foighil successfully tabled a proposal to the draft
County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...
Development Plan 2003–2009 that planning permission in
Gaeltacht A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...
areas outside the city would be given only to applicants fluent in Irish in order to reduce Irish language decline. The proposal was supported by An Taisce and the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Eamon Ó Cuív. However, it received a hostile response from some members of the public and in the media. Ó Foighil's proposal was diluted before the development plan was adopted. The final plan required a "language impact statement" only for developments of more than one dwelling. It stated that "Permission will only be granted where the Authority is satisfied that the effect of the development will be beneficial to the usage of the language in the area, if permitted." The requirements were criticised by ''
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'' columnists Liam Fay and Dara Flynn. Fay dismissed the language rule as an "act of political piety". Flynn cited a developer who stated that the requirement meant that 12 of 23 apartments in his development in the Gaeltacht area of Bruach na hAbhann in An Spidéal were to be reserved for Irish speakers and that this in turn meant that he had to charge a lower price for his apartments. Flynn also cited the case of the son of a returned emigrant who had difficulty buying an apartment in a Gaeltacht area because he didn't speak Irish. Ó Foighil unsuccessfully sought a nomination to run as a Fine Gael candidate in the 2002 general election. He had been told by party official Finbarr Fitzpatrick that he was too old, but put his name forward at the selection convention anyway. According to Pádraic McCormack TD, Ó Foighil challenged Fitzpatrick to 20 press ups, and told the convention that his hair was his own, his teeth were his own and that other parts of his anatomy were working very well, too. He died on 21 March 2005, aged 76. He had resigned from Galway County Council and Údarás na Gaeltachta in 2004, but had been intending to run as an independent candidate in the 2005 elections to the Údarás.


Legacy

Ó Foighil is the subject of the 2011 TG4/ Broadcasting Authority of Ireland funded documentary film, An Tarbh, by Mac Dara Ó Curraidhín.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ofoighil, Pol 1928 births 2005 deaths 21st-century Irish politicians Alumni of the University of Galway Fine Gael senators Members of the 19th Seanad Members of Galway County Council Politicians from County Galway Irish language activists People from Thurles Fine Gael candidates in Dáil elections Independent candidates in Dáil elections Labour Panel senators