Roger Garland (born February 1933) is an Irish environmental activist and a former

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 ...

politician who served as 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 Dublin South constituency from 1989 to 1992. He was the Green Party's first candidate to be elected to Dáil Éireann.

Biography

Garland was educated at

Castleknock College Castleknock College ( ga, Coláiste Caisleán Cnucha) is a voluntary Vincentian secondary school for boys, situated in the residential suburb of Castleknock, west of Dublin city centre, Ireland. Founded in 1835 by Philip Dowley, it is one ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. He stood for the

in the 1989 general election, and was elected to represent Dublin South, becoming the party's first ever TD. Garland lost his seat following the 1992 general election with a dramatic fall in his vote, dropping from 8.8% in 1989 to 3.8%, which was among the lowest votes for a sitting TD. At the

1994 European Parliament election The 1994 European Parliamentary election was a European election held across the 12 European Union member states in June 1994. This election saw the merge of the European People's Party and European Democrats, an increase in the overall numbe ...

, Garland backed an independent Green candidate Peter Sweetman, over the official Green Party candidate, Nuala Ahern, in the

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

constituency. Ahern went on to win the seat, to the surprise of many, and an attempt was made to throw Garland out of the party for his disloyalty, including vote in a specially convened party council. Following the 2007 general election, Garland was one of the leading internal critics of the Greens' decision to enter coalition with

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 Christia ...

. In 1997, he helped found Friends of the Irish Environment, which is a network of Independent Environmentalists, along with other environmental activists Tony Lowes, David Healy, Peter Sweetman, and Sarah Dillon. He is currently chairman of the

Keep Ireland Open Keep Ireland Open is a voluntary campaign organisation established to promote access to the Irish countryside and walkways. Founded in 1994, its chairman is former Green Party TD, Roger Garland. The group believes Irish legislation protecting ...

(KIO) group. He is also a current member of the environmental board of

An Taisce An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland (; meaning "the store" or "the treasury"), established in June 1948, is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) active in the areas of the environment and built heritage in Ireland. It considers itself t ...

the National Trust For

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, its most influential environmental body.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garland, Roger 1933 births Living people Green Party (Ireland) TDs Irish environmentalists Members of the 26th Dáil People educated at Castleknock College