Finian McGrath was born on 9 April 1953 and is an Irish former Independent politician who served as Minister of State for Disability Issues from 2016 to 2020.
26 Facts About Finian McGrath
2.
Finian McGrath served as a Teachta Dala from 2002 to 2020.
3.
Finian McGrath went on to become a primary school principal at Scoil Plas Mhuire for Boys in Dublin, before entering politics.
4.
Finian McGrath had two daughters with his wife Anne, who died in November 2009.
5.
Finian McGrath released a charity single in December 2005, which featured the Christmas song "Angels We Have Heard on High" and the classic "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown".
6.
Finian McGrath was an unsuccessful candidate in the Dublin North-Central constituency at the 1992 and 1997 general elections.
7.
Finian McGrath was elected to Dublin City Council in 1999, with the second-highest vote in the Clontarf local electoral area.
8.
Finian McGrath was first elected to Dail Eireann at the 2002 general election, where he stood as an Independent Health Alliance candidate in the Dublin North-Central constituency.
9.
Finian McGrath joined the technical group, established to ensure Dail speaking time for Independent TDs.
10.
Finian McGrath was re-elected to the 30th Dail at the 2007 general election, confounding predictions that he would lose due to the loss of a seat from the constituency.
11.
Finian McGrath garnered a large number of transfers from the Sinn Fein and Labour Party candidates.
12.
On 20 October 2008, following the 2009 Budget, Finian McGrath withdrew his support for the government in protest at the abolition of an automatic medical card for the over-70s, cuts in education and the increase of the pupil-teacher ratio.
13.
Finian McGrath was re-elected at the 2011 general election, where he served as chair of the Technical group.
14.
Finian McGrath endorsed the Independent candidate Damien O'Farrell at the 2009 local elections for the Clontarf local electoral area in Dublin City Council, who was elected topping the poll.
15.
Finian McGrath agreed, along with four other independent TDs, to sign McGuinness's nomination paper.
16.
Finian McGrath resigned as chair of the technical group in October 2012, after a dispute with Mick Wallace, over Wallace's participation in the loose alliance related to speaking rights in the Dail.
17.
Finian McGrath joined the Independent Alliance at its inception in 2016.
18.
Finian McGrath contested the 2016 general election under that banner, in Dublin Bay North owing to the abolition of Dublin North-Central.
19.
Finian McGrath was re-elected to the Dail and then entered talks on government formation.
20.
Finian McGrath attended cabinet meetings, without a vote, making him a "Super Junior Minister".
21.
Finian McGrath appointed to the same position by Leo Varadkar when he succeeded Kenny as Fine Gael leader and Taoiseach.
22.
In January 2020, in advance of the 2020 general election, Finian McGrath announced that he would not be seeking re-election, but would return to other forms of political activism to support people with disabilities.
23.
Finian McGrath continued in office as junior minister until the appointment of a new government in June 2020.
24.
Finian McGrath has cited health, education and disability as his policy priorities.
25.
Finian McGrath has campaigned against the Iraq War and the US military's use of Shannon Airport as a stopover, and on local environmental issues.
26.
Finian McGrath has spoken in support of Fidel Castro's socialist government in Cuba.