Paul Gogarty
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Paul Nicholas Gogarty (born 20 December 1968) is an Irish
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 ...
politician who has served as a
South Dublin County Council South Dublin County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Átha Cliath Theas) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of South Dublin, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities created by the Local Government (Dublin) Act ...
lor for Lucan since May 2014. He was previously a member of the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
, and served as a Green
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 Dublin Mid-West constituency from 2002 to 2011. He is also a musical performer. Gogarty contested the 2016 general election as part of the Independent Alliance, but was not elected.


Political career


Early local politics

Gogarty joined the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
in 1989 as a student. He ran unsuccessfully in the 1991 local elections for Fingal County Council. He was first elected at the 1999 local elections for the Lucan
local electoral area A local electoral area (LEA; ga, Toghlimistéir Áitiúil) is an electoral area for elections to local authorities in Ireland. All elections use the single transferable vote. The Republic of Ireland is divided into 166 LEAs, with an average p ...
of
South Dublin County Council South Dublin County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Átha Cliath Theas) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of South Dublin, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities created by the Local Government (Dublin) Act ...
.


Dáil Éireann

Gogarty previously contested the 1992 and
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
general elections in the Dublin West constituency. He also ran at the
1996 Dublin West by-election A by-election was held in the Dáil Éireann Dublin West constituency in Ireland on 2 April 1996. It followed the death of Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) and former Tánaiste Brian Lenihan Snr on 1 November 1995. The election was won by Brian L ...
caused by the death of
Brian Lenihan Snr Brian Patrick Lenihan (17 November 1930 – 1 November 1995) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Tánaiste from 1987 to 1990, Minister for Defence from 1989 to 1990, Minister for Agriculture from March 1982 to December 1982, Min ...
. At the 2002 general election, he was elected to the Dáil for the new Dublin Mid-West constituency. He was the first Green Party member to be elected in a three-seat constituency. After his election, Gogarty gave up his local council seat, in line with Green Party policy against dual-mandate and was succeeded by the late Fintan McCarthy. At the 2007 general election, he retained his Dáil seat, taking the second seat in the enlarged constituency. Following the Green Party's entry to government in 2007, Gogarty was appointed Chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Education and Science. In 2002, 2003 and again in 2008, Gogarty called for the pay of members of the Oireachtas to be cut. In November 2003, he described the decision to raise TDs pay by 13% during the Celtic Tiger era, compared with 6% for pensioners and social welfare recipients as a "urination" on the less well off in society. On 3 August 2010, Gogarty wrote to the Clerk of the Seanad asking that newspaper claims alleging that Senator
Ivor Callely Ivor Callely (born 6 May 1958) is an Irish former politician who served as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin North-Central constituency from 1989 to 2007 and a member of Seanad Éireann from 2007 to 2011, having been nominated b ...
had supplied phone expenses claims on headed paper belonging to a company which no longer existed be investigated. Gogarty appeared on the RTÉ Joe Duffy radio show discussing this issue. He went to Lucan Garda station the next day and requested an investigation. In November 2010, he brought his 18-month-old daughter to a Green Party press conference. The following day, many callers to a radio show criticised his decision. He responded that his regular child minder was not available when the press conference was called. Gogarty's work in protecting educational investment during a period of cutbacks has been widely reported in the media, including a profile in ''
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'' in November 2010, which claimed that his contribution was recognised by admirers and detractors alike.


2009 swearing incident

On 11 December 2009, during his contribution to a debate in the Dáil on the Social Welfare bill of the 2010 budget, Gogarty said to Labour Party TD
Emmet Stagg Emmet Stagg (born 1 October 1944) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Labour Party Chief Whip from 2007 to 2016, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications from 1994 to 1997 and Minister ...
: "With all due respect, in the most unparliamentary language, fuck you Deputy Stagg! Fuck you!" He immediately apologised to the House for his use of
unparliamentary language Parliaments and legislative bodies around the world impose certain rules and standards during debates. Tradition has evolved that there are words or phrases that are deemed inappropriate for use in the legislature whilst it is in session. In a ...
, which was criticised by Deputy
Lucinda Creighton Lucinda Creighton (born 20 January 1980) is an Irish businesswoman and former politician, who served as Minister of State for European Affairs from 2011 to 2013. She was leader of Renua from its March 2015 foundation until May 2016, and served a ...
, who demanded his suspension. The incident was referred to a sitting of the Dáil committee on procedure and privileges, when it emerged that "fuck" is not included among the list of forbidden words set out in the ''Salient Rulings of the Chair'', the document which regulates the behaviour and conduct of TDs. Gogarty later clarified that the outburst was totally unintentional and not premeditated as some had suggested. He also said that the outburst had to be taken in the context of his contribution during the debate that day as well as a very turbulent and heated debate the previous night.


Loss of seat and return

Gogarty lost his seat at the 2011 general election, polling 3.47% of the poll and losing his right to reclaim election expenses. Gogarty withdrew from politics until 2014 after losing his Dáil seat, and let his membership of the Green Party lapse. In early 2014, he decided to run for
South Dublin County Council South Dublin County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Átha Cliath Theas) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of South Dublin, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities created by the Local Government (Dublin) Act ...
in local elections that June. He considered returning to the Green Party but ultimately ran a "low key campaign" as an independent. He was elected on the 11th count to the fourth of eight seats in the Lucan local electoral area. In September 2015, Gogarty announced his intention to contest the 2016 general election as part of the Independent Alliance in the Dublin Mid-West constituency. He failed to be elected, receiving 5.9% FPV (
first-preference votes In certain ranked-voting systems, a first-preference vote (or first preference, 1st preference, or primary vote) is the individual voter's first choice amongst (possibly) many. In certain ranked systems such as Instant-Runoff Voting or Single T ...
). He served as Mayor of South Dublin County Council from 2017 to 2018. He ran in the
2019 Dublin Mid-West by-election A by-election was held in the Dáil Éireann Dublin Mid-West constituency in Ireland on Friday, 29 November 2019, to fill the vacancy left by the election of Fine Gael TD Frances Fitzgerald to the European Parliament. It was held on the sam ...
, finishing third with 12.7% FPV. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for Dublin Mid-West at the 2020 general election.


Other activities

In June 2011, he spent four days filming at the "Charity ICA Bootcamp" in County Louth. The show was broadcast on
RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís ...
the following August. He raised €5,000 for Pieta House, a suicide prevention and awareness charity. From July to November 2011, Gogarty was involved in season 4 of the RTÉ television series ''
Celebrity Bainisteoir ''Celebrity Bainisteoir'' was a prime-time reality programme created by Fiona Looney and first broadcast in 2008 by RTÉ. It involved a number of celebrities competing against each other as a Gaelic football team coach. The title derived from t ...
'' managing Oughterard's Seamus Ó Máille GAA Club, Galway. He was beaten by
Tony Cascarino Anthony Guy Cascarino (born 1 September 1962) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker for various British and French clubs and internationally for the Republic of Ireland national team, with whom he competed in UEFA Euro 19 ...
's team. In August 2012, he released his debut single "Wishing on a Photograph" under the stage name of His Sweet Surprise. His third single "Know You All My Life" reached number one on the 7Digital Download Chart in January 2013. He released a music album on 17 February 2013.Former Dáil member launches debut album this Sunday
Hot Press, 2013-02-22.


References


External links


Paul Gogarty's political websitePaul Gogarty's music website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gogarty, Paul 1968 births Living people Alumni of Dublin Institute of Technology Green Party (Ireland) TDs Independent politicians in Ireland Irish male singer-songwriters Members of the 29th Dáil Members of the 30th Dáil Local councillors in South Dublin (county) Politicians from County Westmeath Politicians from County Dublin