13 Facts About Francie Molloy

Francis Joseph Molloy is an Irish Sinn Fein politician who was the abstentionist Member of Parliament for Mid Ulster from 2013 to 2024.

Francie Molloy was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Mid Ulster from 1998 to 2013.

Francie Molloy first stood for Sinn Fein in Fermanagh and South Tyrone in the 1982 Assembly Elections, finishing sixth in the five-seat constituency.

Francie Molloy was then elected to Dungannon council in 1985 representing the Torrent electoral area, centred on Coalisland.

Francie Molloy retired from the council in 1989 but was re-elected in 1993.

Francie Molloy stood unsuccessfully for Sinn Fein in the 1994 European Parliament election.

Francie Molloy was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996 representing Mid Ulster and then for the same constituency to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998,2003 and 2007.

In 2005, Francie Molloy was temporarily suspended from Sinn Fein after publicly disagreeing with the party policy on eliminating many district councils, including the Dungannon Council of which he was a member.

In 2007, DUP MP David Simpson had claimed during a debate in the Westminster parliament that Francie Molloy had been a member of the IRA and was suspected by police of being involved in the fatal shooting of Lutton's father, Frederick Lutton, on 1 May 1979.

The investigation came to nothing, and Simpson claimed this was because Francie Molloy was coerced into becoming a police informant, providing information that helped break up the IRA's East Tyrone Brigade.

Francie Molloy denied the allegations and challenged anyone to repeat them outside Parliament so he could take legal action.

Francie Molloy held his seat at the 2015,2017 and 2019 general elections.

Francie Molloy announced in February 2024 that he would step down at the 2024 general election.