John Finucane

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the Limerick politician, see John Finucane (Limerick politician).
John Finucane
John Finucane, Megan Fearon MLA, Ailbhe Smith, Mary Lou McDonald TD, Louise O'Reilly TD & Jonathan O'Brien TD (41716231601) (Finucane cropped).jpg
Finucane in 2017
64th Lord Mayor of Belfast
In office
21 May 2019 – 18 December 2019
Preceded byDeirdre Hargey
Succeeded byDaniel Baker
ConstituencyCastle
Member of
Belfast City Council
In office
2019–2019
Preceded byMary Campbell
Succeeded byConor Maskey
ConstituencyCastle
Member of Parliament
for Belfast North
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byNigel Dodds
Majority1,943 (4.0%)
Personal details
Born1980
NationalityIrish
Political partySinn Féin
Children4
ResidenceNorth Belfast
OccupationPolitician

John Finucane (born 1980) is an Irish lawyer, footballer, and Sinn Féin politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Belfast North constituency of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since the 2019 general election.[1][2][3]

Early life[]

Finucane is the son of the Irish lawyer Pat Finucane, who was murdered in 1989 at his family home by loyalist paramilitaries, a murder that BBC News called "one of the most controversial killings during The Troubles".[4] Finucane's father was a Roman Catholic from west Belfast, whilst his mother came from a Protestant family in east Belfast.

Political career[]

At the 2017 United Kingdom general election Finucane contested the Belfast North parliamentary constituency for Sinn Féin; the sitting MP was Nigel Dodds of the Democratic Unionist Party. Finucane secured Sinn Féin's highest vote share ever in the constituency but failed to unseat Dodds.[5]

In 2019, Finucane ran for Belfast City Council in the Castle DEA. Also on the ballot were his former St Malachy's College classmates Mal O'Hara of the Green Party and Carl Whyte of the SDLP.[6] Finucane won 1,650 votes, placing him second in the poll behind of the Alliance Party. He was consequently elected as a councillor.[7]

Finucane was elected as Lord Mayor of Belfast in May 2019.[8][9] Shortly after being elected Lord Mayor at Belfast City Hall, he was informed by the Police Service of Northern Ireland that loyalists had made credible threats to his life and planned to attack his family home. Finucane remarked "I am committed to serving and representing all the people of this city and I will not be deterred from that by threats from anyone." The next day, he welcomed Charles, Prince of Wales to the city whilst he was on an official visit.[10]

At the 2019 United Kingdom general election Finucane again contested Belfast North, winning the seat with 23,078 votes to Dodds' 21,135.[11] He is the first Irish nationalist MP in the history of the constituency.[12]

Personal life[]

Finucane serves as goalkeeper and captain of GAA's Lámh Dhearg GAC. He has four children.[8]

References[]

  1. ^ "Finucane, John". Politics.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  2. ^ "John Finucane on being 'Lord Mayor for all', reaching out to unionists, his dad's murder and GAA heroics". Belfasttelegraph – via www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
  3. ^ Breen, Suzanne (17 November 2019). "General Election: Nigel Dodds v John Finucane will prove litmus test for bitterest foes in North Belfast". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  4. ^ "Q&A: The murder of Pat Finucane". BBC News. 7 October 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  5. ^ Ferguson, Amanda (9 June 2017). "Belfast North: John Finucane fails to unseat DUP's Nigel Dodds". Irish Times. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  6. ^ "North Belfast school friends battle it out in election". BBC News. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  7. ^ "Castle". Belfast City Council. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  8. ^ a b Bogue, Declan (5 October 2019). "John Finucane on being 'Lord Mayor for all', reaching out to unionists, his dad's murder and GAA heroics". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  9. ^ "Lord Mayor – Belfast City Council". Belfastcity.gov.uk. 2019-05-21. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  10. ^ "John Finucane defies loyalist threat as he starts work as Belfast mayor". Irish Examiner. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  11. ^ "Belfast North Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  12. ^ Devlin, Kate (14 December 2019). "DUP pushed aside as nationalists beat unionists for first time". The Times. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Belfast North
2019–present 		Incumbent
Civic offices
Preceded by Lord Mayor of Belfast
2019–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from ""