Pearse Doherty
Encyclopedia
Pearse Doherty is an Irish
Sinn Féin
politician. He serves as a Teachta Dála
(TD) for the Donegal South West
constituency and as Sinn Féin's Dáil spokesperson on Finance. Doherty formerly served on Donegal County Council from 2004–07 and in Seanad Éireann
from 2007–10.
, Scotland
. The family returned home to the Gaeltacht
area of Gweedore
, County Donegal
, when he was 3 years old. He grew up in the Gaeltacht and is a speaker of the Irish language
.
In 1996, Doherty enrolled in a civil engineering
degree course at Dublin Institute of Technology
. He completed two years of the course, earning a national certificate
that entitled him to work as a civil engineering technician. He then left third-level education to pursue a job in that field. Doherty later resumed his studies by enrolling in another civil engineering course at Letterkenny Institute of Technology
, but dropped out to run for the Dáil in the 2002 general election.
and served on its national executive. In the 2002 general election
, he ran unsuccessfully for the Dáil in the Donegal South West
constituency. On 11 June 2004, he ran simultaneously in the 2004 European Parliament elections
and in the local elections for Donegal County Council
. Although he failed to win a seat in the European Parliament, he was elected to serve as a county councillor for the Glenties
area of Donegal. His second attempt to win a Dáil seat at the 2007 general election also proved unsuccessful, but he was elected to Seanad Éireann
by the Agricultural Panel on 24 July 2007.
On 12 July 2010, the High Court granted Doherty a judicial review into why a by-election had not been held to fill the Dáil seat vacated by Fianna Fáil's Pat the Cope Gallagher, who had won election to the European Parliament in June 2009. On 2 November 2010, the High Court ruled that there had been an unreasonable delay in holding the by-election. In response, the government announced on 4 November 2010 that the by-election
would be held three weeks later, on 25 November. Doherty stood as the Sinn Féin
candidate and won the by-election by a substantial margin, earning 39.8 percent of the first-preference vote. Upon taking his seat in the Dáil, Doherty was appointed Sinn Féin's spokesperson on Finance.
In February 2011, several newspapers alleged that Doherty had misled the public by stating on various Sinn Féin and Oireachtas webpages that he had formerly worked as a "civil engineer," an occupation that presumes a degree-level qualification. Doherty, who insisted that he had "always been upfront" about the fact that he had not completed his degree, clarified his educational credentials and acknowledged that he had only ever qualified as a civil engineering technician.
Doherty was re-elected to the Dáil in the 2011 general election. He topped the poll in Donegal South West, attaining 33.0 percent of the first-preference vote. Nationwide, only Fine Gael
politician Martin Heydon
received a higher share of the first-preference vote in his constituency, with 33.3 percent. Doherty's total of 14,262 first-preference votes was surpassed nationally only by Enda Kenny
in Mayo
(17,472), Shane Ross
in Dublin South
(17,075), and Gerry Adams
in Louth
(15,072).
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
politician. He serves as a Teachta Dála
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
(TD) for the Donegal South West
Donegal South West (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Donegal South–West is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 3 deputies...
constituency and as Sinn Féin's Dáil spokesperson on Finance. Doherty formerly served on Donegal County Council from 2004–07 and in Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas , which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann . It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members Senators or Seanadóirí . Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by...
from 2007–10.
Background and education
Doherty was born to a Donegal family living in GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The family returned home to the Gaeltacht
Gaeltacht
is the Irish language word meaning an Irish-speaking region. In Ireland, the Gaeltacht, or an Ghaeltacht, refers individually to any, or collectively to all, of the districts where the government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant language, that is, the vernacular spoken at home...
area of Gweedore
Gweedore
Gweedore is an Irish-speaking district located on the Atlantic coast of County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. Gweedore stretches some 16 miles from Meenaclady in the north to Crolly in the south and around 9 miles from Dunlewey in the east to Magheraclogher in the west, and...
, County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
, when he was 3 years old. He grew up in the Gaeltacht and is a speaker of the Irish language
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
.
In 1996, Doherty enrolled in a civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
degree course at Dublin Institute of Technology
Dublin Institute of Technology
Dublin Institute of Technology was established officially in 1992 under the but had been previously set up in 1978 on an ad-hoc basis. The institution can trace its origins back to 1887 with the establishment of various technical institutions in Dublin, Ireland...
. He completed two years of the course, earning a national certificate
National Certificate
National Certificate is the name of an educational award in a number of countries, although the actual merit of award is not always the same.-Ireland:...
that entitled him to work as a civil engineering technician. He then left third-level education to pursue a job in that field. Doherty later resumed his studies by enrolling in another civil engineering course at Letterkenny Institute of Technology
Letterkenny Institute of Technology
Letterkenny Institute of Technology , formerly Regional Technical College, Letterkenny, is located in Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland. It is a third level institution serving County Donegal and the North West of Ireland. The institute is usually known locally as the Regional. Today, it is one...
, but dropped out to run for the Dáil in the 2002 general election.
Political career
A member of Sinn Féin since 1996, Doherty was a founding member of Ógra Shinn FéinÓgra Shinn Féin
Ógra Shinn Féin is the youth wing of the Irish political party Sinn Féin. ÓSF is active and organised throughout Ireland. It is often considered the most prominent incarnation of Fianna Éireann. Upon its establishment in 1997 it was originally known as Sinn Féin Youth, it changed to Ógra Shinn...
and served on its national executive. In the 2002 general election
Irish general election, 2002
The Irish general election of 2002 was held on Friday, 17 May 2002 just over three weeks after the dissolution of the 28th Dáil on Thursday 25 April by President Mary McAleese, at the request of the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern...
, he ran unsuccessfully for the Dáil in the Donegal South West
Donegal South West (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Donegal South–West is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 3 deputies...
constituency. On 11 June 2004, he ran simultaneously in the 2004 European Parliament elections
European Parliament election, 2004 (Ireland)
The 2004 European Parliament election in Ireland was the Irish component of the 2004 European Parliament election. The voting was held on Friday, 11 June 2004. The election coincided with the 2004 local elections...
and in the local elections for Donegal County Council
Donegal
Donegal or Donegal Town is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. Its name, which was historically written in English as Dunnagall or Dunagall, translates from Irish as "stronghold of the foreigners" ....
. Although he failed to win a seat in the European Parliament, he was elected to serve as a county councillor for the Glenties
Glenties
Glenties is a village in the northwest of Ireland in central County Donegal. It is situated where two glens meet, northwest of the Blue Stack Mountains, near the confluence of two rivers. Glenties is the largest centre of population in the parish of Iniskeel...
area of Donegal. His second attempt to win a Dáil seat at the 2007 general election also proved unsuccessful, but he was elected to Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas , which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann . It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members Senators or Seanadóirí . Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by...
by the Agricultural Panel on 24 July 2007.
On 12 July 2010, the High Court granted Doherty a judicial review into why a by-election had not been held to fill the Dáil seat vacated by Fianna Fáil's Pat the Cope Gallagher, who had won election to the European Parliament in June 2009. On 2 November 2010, the High Court ruled that there had been an unreasonable delay in holding the by-election. In response, the government announced on 4 November 2010 that the by-election
Donegal South West by-election, 2010
A by-election was held on 25 November 2010 in the Donegal South–West constituency in Ireland, following the election of the Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála Pat the Cope Gallagher to the European Parliament at the June 2009 election...
would be held three weeks later, on 25 November. Doherty stood as the Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
candidate and won the by-election by a substantial margin, earning 39.8 percent of the first-preference vote. Upon taking his seat in the Dáil, Doherty was appointed Sinn Féin's spokesperson on Finance.
In February 2011, several newspapers alleged that Doherty had misled the public by stating on various Sinn Féin and Oireachtas webpages that he had formerly worked as a "civil engineer," an occupation that presumes a degree-level qualification. Doherty, who insisted that he had "always been upfront" about the fact that he had not completed his degree, clarified his educational credentials and acknowledged that he had only ever qualified as a civil engineering technician.
Doherty was re-elected to the Dáil in the 2011 general election. He topped the poll in Donegal South West, attaining 33.0 percent of the first-preference vote. Nationwide, only Fine Gael
Fine Gael
Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...
politician Martin Heydon
Martin Heydon
Martin Heydon is an Irish Fine Gael politician. He was elected as a Teachta Dála for the Kildare South constituency at the 2011 general election. He was a member of Kildare County Council for the Athy electoral area from 2009–11....
received a higher share of the first-preference vote in his constituency, with 33.3 percent. Doherty's total of 14,262 first-preference votes was surpassed nationally only by Enda Kenny
Enda Kenny
Enda Kenny is an Irish Fine Gael politician, and has been the Taoiseach since 2011. He has led Fine Gael since 2002. He served as Minister for Tourism and Trade from 1994 to 1997. He is also a two-term Vice President of the European People's Party.Kenny has been a Teachta Dála for Mayo since...
in Mayo
Mayo (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Mayo is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects five deputies...
(17,472), Shane Ross
Shane Ross
Shane Peter Nathaniel Ross is an independent Irish politician and Business Editor of the Sunday Independent. He was the longest-serving member of Seanad Éireann , until he was elected to Dáil Éireann for the constituency of Dublin South at the 2011 general election.-Early life and career:Born in...
in Dublin South
Dublin South (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Dublin South is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 5 deputies...
(17,075), and Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams is an Irish republican politician and Teachta Dála for the constituency of Louth. From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. He is the president of Sinn Féin, the second largest political party in Northern...
in Louth
Louth (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Louth is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 5 deputies...
(15,072).
External links
- Pearse Doherty's page on the Sinn Féin website
- Pearse Doherty donegalsf.com
- Dáil General Election Profile : Pearse Doherty, Donegal South West