Tom Sheahan (born 5 September 1968) 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 who served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for the

Administrative Panel The Administrative 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 Administrative Panel elects seven senators. Election ...

from 2011 to 2016 and 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 the Kerry South constituency from 2007 to 2011. He was elected to the

30th Dáil 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

at the 2007 general election. He was elected to

Kerry County Council Kerry County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Chiarraí) is the authority responsible for local government in County Kerry, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and c ...

for the

Killarney Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Castl ...

local electoral area following the 2004 local elections. He was the Fine Gael deputy spokesperson on Agriculture, with special responsibility for Forestry from October 2010 to March 2011. Previously, he served as deputy spokesperson on Agriculture, with special responsibility for Fisheries from 2007 to 2010. He is a member of the Kerry Mental Health Association, Rathmore Community Council and

Rathmore GAA Rathmore is a Gaelic Athletic Association club from Rathmore, County Kerry, Ireland. Together with 12 other football clubs ( Cordal, Dr. Crokes, Currow, Firies, Fossa, Glenflesk, Gneeveguilla, Kilcummin, Legion, Listry, Rathmore, Sca ...

Club. He lost his seat at the 2011 general election to party colleague Brendan Griffin. He was subsequently elected to

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 ...

as a Senator for the

in April 2011. He was the Fine Gael Seanad Spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Reform. In September 2012, he made remarks in the Seanad in which he referred to the accidental death of a Garda and claimed 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 Gri ...

member had allegedly said "they would have done a much cleaner job". His comments were criticised by the Garda Representatives Association, and by the Sinn Féin Kerry North TD

Martin Ferris Martin Ferris (born 28 March 1952) is a former Irish Sinn Féin politician and former Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) volunteer who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 2002 to 2020. Early and personal life Ferris was born in Strand Stre ...

, who challenged Sheahan to name the person. In 2014, Sheahan made "anti-Traveller" comments which sparked a controversy in

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

. He later denied the misinterpretation of his comment and clarified his stance on the matter of

Irish Travellers Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally List of nomadic peoples#Peripatetic, peripatetic indigenous Ethnic group, ethno-cultural group ...

and

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

communities. He was an unsuccessful candidate at the 2020 Seanad election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheahan, Tom 1968 births Living people Fine Gael TDs Members of the 24th Seanad Members of the 30th Dáil Politicians from County Kerry Fine Gael senators Administrative Panel senators