Thomas Gormley (29 July 1916 – 1984) was a politician in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, and a member of the

Northern Ireland parliament The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...

for Mid Tyrone from 1962 until its suspension in 1972. Born in

Claudy Claudy () is a village and townland (of 1,154 acres) in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies in the Faughan Valley, southeast of Derry, where the River Glenrandal joins the River Faughan. It is situated in the civil parish of Cumber Upp ...

, Gormley became a

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

before following his brother

Paddy Paddy may refer to: People *Paddy (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname *An List of ethnic slurs#P, ethnic slur for an Irishman Birds *Paddy (pigeon), a Second World War carrier pigeon *Snowy sheathbill or paddy, a bird ...

into politics. He was elected to

Strabane Strabane ( ; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Strabane had a population of 13,172 at the 2011 Census. It lies on the east bank of the River Foyle. It is roughly midway from Omagh, Derry and Letterkenny. The River Foyle marks ...

Rural District Council in 1947, and to

Tyrone County Council Tyrone County Council was the authority responsible for local government in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. History Tyrone County Council was formed under orders issued in accordance with the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 which came into ef ...

in 1950.Biographies of Members of the Northern Ireland House of Commons
/ref> At the

1958 Northern Ireland general election The 1958 Northern Ireland general election was called on 27 February by 1st Viscount Brookeborough to be held on 20 March 1958. Like all previous elections to the Parliament of Northern Ireland, it produced a large majority for the Ulster Uni ...

, Gormley stood 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 ...

Farmers' Candidate on a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

platform in Mid Tyrone, coming second. At the 1962 election, he was elected there for the official Nationalist Party. With his brother, he represented the

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

tendency in the party. In November 1969, Gormley resigned to sit as an Independent Nationalist, and in 1972, he joined the

Alliance Party of Northern Ireland The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), or simply Alliance, is a liberal and centrist political party in Northern Ireland. As of the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, it is the third-largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly, ...

(APNI). He stood unsuccessfully in Mid Ulster for APNIMid Ulster 1973–82
/ref> at the

1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. P ...

, but was elected to

Strabane District Council Strabane District Council ( ga, Comhairle Ceantair an tSratha Báin; Ulster-Scots: ''Stràbane Destrìck Cooncil'') was a local council in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland established by the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972. It merge ...

, on which he served until 1977.

References