Thomas Gildea (born September 1939) is an Irish former politician who was elected as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

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) at the 1997 general election. A farmer representing Donegal South-West, he won popular local support for his campaign to legalise 'deflectors' which re-transmitted British television channels in rural areas, but which had been shut down in the wake of legal action by

cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

and MMDS operators. He supported the Fianna Fáil–Progressive Democrats minority coalition government from 1997 to 2002. In the 1999 local elections, he was elected as a member of

Donegal County Council Donegal County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Dhún na nGall) is the authority responsible for local government in County Donegal, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for hou ...

for

Glenties Glenties () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is situated where two glens meet, north-west of the Bluestack Mountains, near the confluence of two rivers. Glenties is the largest centre of population in the parish of Iniskeel. Glenties has ...

. He did not contest the 2002 general election and retired from politics at the 2004 local elections. He was later Chairman of the National Community Television Association. In July 2000, he married Eilish Hegarty. They have one child.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gildea, Thomas 1939 births Living people Independent TDs 20th-century Irish farmers Members of Donegal County Council Members of the 28th Dáil People from Glenties Politicians from County Donegal Television in the Republic of Ireland