Pádraig Mac Lochlainn
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Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (; born 12 June 1973) is an Irish
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 ...
politician who 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 Parli ...
(TD) for the
Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...
constituency since the
2020 general election The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2020. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems maintains a comprehensive list of upcoming elections on its E-Guide Platform. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calend ...
, and previously from 2011 to 2016 for the Donegal North-East constituency. He previously 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
Industrial and Commercial Panel The Industrial and Commercial Panel ( ga, An Rolla Tionscail Agus Tráchtála) 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 Ind ...
from 2016 to 2020.


Early and personal life

Mac Lochlainn was born in
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, on 12 June 1973. The son of two Irish parents, Réamonn and Mary Mac Lochlainn. He is their only child. His father was a
Provisional IRA The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...
volunteer who spent nine and a half years imprisoned in jails across England. After his release in 1984, his father wrote a book about his prison experience called "Inside An English Jail", which was published posthumously in 1987 under the name of Raymond McLaughlin. Mary Mac Lochlainn was raised in an Irish Traveller family. He was raised by his mother and grandmother for the duration of his father's imprisonment, and described them as "two strong, loving Traveller women". After his father's release from prison in England, Mac Lochlainn then aged 10 moved with his family to his father's home of
Buncrana Buncrana ( ; ) is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is beside Lough Swilly on the Inishowen peninsula, northwest of Derry and north of Letterkenny. In the 2016 census, the population was 6,785 making it the second most populous town in Cou ...
,
County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...
and he has lived there since. His father died in a drowning accident in
Shannon, County Clare Shannon () or Shannon Town (), named after the river near which it stands, is a town in County Clare, Ireland. It was given town status on 1 January 1982. The town is located just off the N19 road, a spur of the N18/M18 road between Limeric ...
in 1985. He left school at the age of 14 and later returned to education as an adult through community development studies and distance learning. He worked in the painting and decorating trade for many years.


Civic and political career

He was the Donegal spokesperson for the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU) from 1997 to 2001. He also served on the INOU National Executive from 1997 until 2000 as well as representing the organisation on the National Rural Development Forum. At local level, he was a community director on the Inishowen Partnership Board for 5 years from 1996 to 2001. His work as a community activist and political representative had led him to speak at conferences across Europe on the issues of unemployment, regional neglect and rural poverty. He was co-opted onto Buncrana Town Council in 2002. He was then subsequently elected onto Buncrana Town Council in 2004 and 2009. He was also elected to
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 ...
in 2004 representing the Inishowen local electoral area and was re-elected in 2009. Mac Lochlainn served as Mayor of Buncrana twice; 2005–06 and 2010–11. He also served as Deputy Mayor of Donegal from 2010 to 2011. At national level, he was the Director of Sinn Féin's campaign against the Lisbon Treaty in 2008. He has served as Chairperson of his party's National Councillors Forum (NCF) and has served on the Sinn Féin Ard Comhairle (National Executive). He was appointed to the board of InterTradeIreland, the Trade and Business Development Body in December 2007 and served on the board up until March 2011.


Dáil Éireann (2011–2016)

Mac Lochlainn was elected to the Dáil on 25 February 2011 for the constituency of Donegal North-East on his third attempt. He was the Sinn Féin Dáil Spokesperson on Justice, Equality and Defence serving as a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality and Defence. He was elected Chairperson of the Joint Oireachtas Public Services Oversight and Petitions Committee on 30 January 2013. He previously served as the Sinn Féin Dáil Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Trade and was a member of two Joint Oireachtas Committees, Foreign Affairs and Trade and European Affairs. He served as a member of the
British Irish Parliamentary Assembly British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
for almost two years up until January 2013. Mac Lochlainn has been a prominent supporter of the cause of Palestinian independence and statehood and he is the Secretary of the Oireachtas Friends of Palestine group of TDs and Senators. As Sinn Féin's Foreign Affairs spokesperson, he strongly supported Ireland's commitment to overseas aid as evidenced in the party position paper he oversaw in early 2012, "Honouring our Legacy: Keeping Ireland at the Heart of Global Justice". In June 2012, the ''
Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...
'' newspaper alleged that Mac Lochlainn and his party colleague, Deputy Pearse Doherty had "diverted unspent travel and accommodation expenses towards hiring part-time party workers despite these expenses being supposed to be returned to the Oireachtas under rules introduced in 2010". Both Deputies were subsequently found not to have broken any Oireachtas rules. In December 2012, Mac Lochlainn was suspended from the Dáil after he accused the
Ceann Comhairle The (; "Head of heCouncil"; plural usually ) is the chairperson (or speaker) of , the lower house of the (parliament) of Ireland. The person who holds the position is elected by members of the from among their number in the first session a ...
Seán Barrett of "double standards and hypocrisy". In early 2013, he published a bill (The Reform of Judicial Appointments Procedures Bill 2013) seeking to end the system of political appointees being made judges in Ireland. At the 2016 general election, Mac Lochlainn ran as one of three Sinn Féin candidates in the new five-seater
Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...
constituency. After a tight race for the final seat in the constituency, he lost narrowly to Thomas Pringle by 184 votes.


Seanad Éireann (2016–2020)

Following this defeat, Mac Lochlainn served in the Seanad.


Return to Dáil Éireann (2020–present)

He was re-elected to the Dáil at the general election of February 2020 behind
Pearse Doherty Pearse Daniel Doherty (born 6 July 1977) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Donegal constituency since the 2016 general election, and previously a TD for the Donegal South-West constituency from 2010 to ...
, both on the first count and both exceeding the quota. He was appointed to the position of Sinn Féin Party Whip/ Chief Whip in the Dáil on 2 July 2020, and as the party’s Spokesperson on Fisheries and the Marine on 30 July 2020.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mac Lochlainn, Padraig 1973 births Living people Irish Travellers Local councillors in County Donegal Mayors of places in the Republic of Ireland Members of the 25th Seanad Members of the 31st Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil People from Buncrana People from Leeds Politicians from County Donegal Sinn Féin TDs (post-1923) Sinn Féin senators