Peadar Tóibín (; born 19 June 1974) is an Irish politician who has served as Leader of

Aontú Aontú (; "Unite") is an all-Ireland political party that was formally launched in January 2019, and operates in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ideologically, Aontú is opposed to abortion and combines elements of social co ...

since January 2019. He has been 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 Parl ...

(TD) for the Meath West constituency since

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

. He previously served as Chair of the Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs from 2016 to 2018. He founded Aontú in January 2019. He was elected as a

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gr ...

candidate in 2011, but resigned from the party on 15 November 2018.

Career

Sinn Féin (2004–2018)

At the 2004 local elections, he stood unsuccessfully for Navan Town Council, and for the

Navan Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town of County Meath, Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 30,173, making it the tenth largest settlement in Ireland. It is at the confluence of the River Boyne and Blackwater, around 50&nb ...

local electoral area of Meath County Council. He was co-opted onto Navan Town Council in November 2007, and held that seat at the 2009 local elections, when he was again unsuccessful in the county council election. Tóibín was suspended from the Sinn Féin parliamentary party for six months in July 2013, when he defied the party whip by voting against the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013. He called for a 'No' vote in the 2018 Referendum on the Eighth Amendment. He and his party colleague Carol Nolan, who had been suspended from Sinn Féin for voting against policy on the abortion issue, were the only representatives from the party to attend a photocall in

Merrion Square Merrion Square () is a Georgian garden square on the southside of Dublin city centre. History The square was laid out in 1752 by the estate of Viscount FitzWilliam and was largely complete by the beginning of the 19th century. The demand f ...

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 ...

to publicise the 'No' campaign. Tóibín was again suspended from the Sinn Féin parliamentary party for six months in October 2018, when he defied the party whip by voting against the Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy Bill 2018. On 15 November 2018, Tóibín announced his resignation from Sinn Féin, saying that restrictions imposed on him by the party over his views on abortion had "prevented me from fully representing my constituents".

Aontú (2019–present)

After resigning from Sinn Féin in November 2018, Tóibín announced that he would attempt to establish an alternative political party. On 28 January 2019, he announced that the name of his new political party would be

, Irish for "unity and consent". At the 2020 general election, Tóibín retained his seat in Meath West with 7,322 first-preference votes, or 17.6%, taking the second of the constituency's three seats. In February 2022, Tóibín used

parliamentary privilege Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties ...

to name Soldier F, a soldier accused of murdering two people on

Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence aga ...

. This was the first time the soldier had been identified in the Dáil. He had previously been identified by name in the British parliament, and in ''

Village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

'' magazine in Ireland.

Personal life

He is a business consultant. He is married to Deirdre Tóibín, they have four children. He was the Chairperson of the Save Navan Hospital Campaign. He has a degree in Economics and Politics from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

(UCD) and was an active member of the Kevin Barry Cumann during his time there.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toibin, Peadar 1974 births Living people People from Drogheda Alumni of University College Dublin Independent TDs Local councillors in County Meath Members of the 31st Dáil Members of the 32nd Dáil Sinn Féin TDs (post-1923) Aontú politicians Irish anti-abortion activists Members of the 33rd Dáil