Keith Swanick is an Irish former

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 Christian- ...

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 Cultural and Educational Panel from 2016 to 2020.

Early life and education

Originally from Castlerea in

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

, Swanick and his wife run a GP Practice in

Belmullet Belmullet (, IPA: �bʲeːlənˠˈwʊɾˠhəd̪ˠ is a coastal Gaeltacht town with a population of 1,019 on the Mullet Peninsula in the barony (Ireland), barony of Erris, County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the commercial and cul ...

in the Erris region of North Mayo. He is also the Secretary of the National Association of Irish General Practitioners.

Career

He was chosen as a candidate for Fianna Fáil in a Seanad by-election after the retirement of

Jimmy Harte James Harte (born 27 February 1958) is an Irish former Labour Party politician and was a member of Seanad Éireann from April 2011 to September 2015. Formerly an elected representative of Fine Gael, he left after failing to win the party's nom ...

, which was won by Labour's

Máiría Cahill Máiría Cahill (; born 1981) is an Irish politician. In October 2014, she waived anonymity as a complainant in a sexual abuse case to tell of her claims of being sexually abused as a teenager by a Provisional IRA member and allegations of being ...

. He initially considered contesting the 2016 general election in the Roscommon-Galway constituency but declined. He was the Fianna Fáil Seanad Spokesperson on Health and Mental Health. He did not contest the 2020 Seanad election, after being involved in an

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...

expenses controversy.

References

Living people Alumni of the University of Galway Alumni of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Fianna Fáil senators Members of the 25th Seanad 21st-century Irish medical doctors Year of birth missing (living people) People from Belmullet People from Castlerea Medical doctors from County Roscommon Cultural and Educational Panel senators {{Ireland-senator-stub