Paschal Canice Mooney (born 14 October 1947) is an Irish

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 Christia ...

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 Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, 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, 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 for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, whil ...

, 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 65 ...

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 ...

MP and in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

by Alf Dubs 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 List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

(including 26 Irish servicemen) shot in questionable circumstances following Field courts-martial. Mooney married Sheila Baldrey; the couple has five children.

Political career

He was first elected to the Seanad in 1987, on the

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 (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 function ...

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.

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

Early and personal life

Political career

See also

References