Trevor Ó Clochartaigh Explained

Office:Senator
Term Start:24 April 2011
Term End:5 February 2018
Constituency:Agricultural Panel
Birth Date:14 March 1968
Birth Place:Huddersfield, England
Nationality:Irish
Party:Independent
Alma Mater:NUI Galway[1]

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (in Irish pronounced as /oː ˈklˠɔxəɾˠt̪ˠiː/; born 14 March 1968) is an Irish former politician who has served as a Senator for the Agricultural Panel from 2011 to 2018.[2]

Ó Clochartaigh was born and raised in Huddersfield, England.[3] His parents came from the Connemara area of County Galway. He attended NUI Galway, graduating with a Commerce degree. He worked in Irish language theatre, and is a former manager and artistic director of An Taiḃḋearc.[3] He also worked in television production as producer of Fair City and Ros na Rún, and in community development projects.[4]

He first entered politics as a member of the Labour Party, unsuccessfully contesting the Connemara area of Galway County Council at the 2004 local elections.[5] He subsequently left Labour and joined Sinn Féin, and was the party's candidate at the 2009 local elections and for Dáil Éireann in the Galway West constituency at the 2011 general election, but was not elected.[4] [5]

In April 2011, he was elected to Seanad Éireann on the Agricultural Panel[6] and was re-elected in April 2016.[7]

In November 2017, he left Sinn Féin, citing "serious disciplinary issues" within the party.[8] However Sinn Féin claim that Trevor left the party because "he was worried that a democratic vote of party members in the constituency would not select him to contest the election" and that just days before his leaving he had been advocating that two candidates instead of just one should be nominated at the Party's local selection convention.[9]

He resigned from Seanad Éireann on 5 February 2018, to take up a new role at the television station TG4.

Notes and References

  1. News: Sandra Butler's Alumni Hour on Flirt FM 101.3, Thursdays at 2pm. Spring 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20120509052031/http://www.nuigalway.ie/alumni/newsletter/spring2011.html. 9 May 2012. Alumni Hour is a show in which well-known alumni regale host Sandra Butler with tales of their student days in Galway – all set to the soundtrack of their favourite tunes from that time. Sandra's recent guests include Leo Moran of Saw Doctors fame Trevor Ó Clochartaigh..
  2. Web site: Trevor Ó Clochartaigh. Oireachtas Members Database. 16 January 2013.
  3. Book: Collins, Stephen. Stephen Collins (journalist)

    . Stephen Collins (journalist). Nealon's Guide to the 31st Dáil and 24th Seanad. 2011. Gill & Macmillan. Dublin. 9780717150595. 199.

  4. Web site: Trevor Ó Clochartaigh profile. Sinn Féin. 27 April 2011.
  5. Web site: Trevor Ó Clochartaigh. ElectionsIreland.org. 27 April 2011.
  6. Web site: Counting continues in Seanad election. 27 April 2011. RTÉ News. 27 April 2011.
  7. Seanad Éireann - Result of the 13th Count - #25thSeanad #seeforyourself. OireachtasNews. 724953272193290240. 26 April 2016.
  8. Christina Finn, Sinn Féin senator quits, alleging 'serious disciplinary issues' in the party, TheJournal.ie 30 November 2017.
  9. Sinn Féin response to Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh resignation., SinnFéin.ie, 30 November 2017.