Office: | Teachta Dála |
Term Start: | June 1997 |
Term End: | May 2002 |
Constituency: | Donegal South-West |
Birth Place: | County Donegal, Ireland |
Party: | Independent |
Spouse: | Eilish Hegarty |
Children: | 1 |
Thomas Gildea (born September 1939) is an Irish former politician who was elected as an independent Teachta Dála (TD) at the 1997 general election.[1]
A farmer representing Donegal South-West, he won popular local support for his campaign to legalise 'deflectors' which re-transmitted British television channels in rural areas, but which had been shut down in the wake of legal action by cable and MMDS operators.[2] [3] He supported the Fianna Fáil–Progressive Democrats minority coalition government from 1997 to 2002.
In the 1999 local elections, he was elected as a member of Donegal County Council for Glenties.[4] He did not contest the 2002 general election and retired from politics at the 2004 local elections.[4]
He was later Chairman of the National Community Television Association.
In July 2000, he married Eilish Hegarty.[5] They have one child.[6]