Donie Cassidy

Donie Cassidy
Leader of the Seanad
In office 1 July 2007 – 1 April 2011
Taoiseach	Bertie Ahern Brian Cowen
Preceded by	Mary O'Rourke
Succeeded by	Maurice Cummins
In office 12 August 1997 – 18 June 2002
Taoiseach	Bertie Ahern
Preceded by	Maurice Manning
Succeeded by	Mary O'Rourke
Senator
In office 1 July 2007 – 1 April 2011
In office 22 May 1982 – 28 May 2002
Constituency	Labour Panel
Teachta Dála
In office May 2002–May 2007
Constituency	Westmeath
Personal details
Born	(1945-09-15)15 September 1945 Castlepollard,County Westmeath,Ireland
Political party	Fianna Fáil
Spouse	Anne Geraghty ​ (m.1978)​
Children	4

Daniel Cassidy(born 15 September 1945) is an Irish formerFianna Fáilpolitician who served asLeader of the Seanadfrom 2007 to 2011. He served as aSenatorfor theLabour Panelfrom 1982 to 2002 and 2007 to 2011 and aTeachta Dála(TD) for theWestmeathconstituency from 2002 to 2007.

Early and personal life

Cassidy was born inCastlepollardinCounty Westmeath.He came to prominence in Ireland through the show band scene. A saxophone player with Jim Tobin and the Firehouse, he moved into showbusiness management. He was the manager ofFoster and Allen,a popular singing duo that enjoyed success inside and outside Ireland.

Political career

He first held political office in 1982 when he was elected as a Fianna FáilSenatorfor theLabour Panel.He was a member ofWestmeath County Councilfrom 1985 until 2003 at which point he resigned from the council due to the abolition of thedual mandate.

Cassidy was elected toDáil Éireannfor theWestmeathconstituency at the2002 general election,taking the seat of sitting TD and Government MinisterMary O'Rourke.This created a rift between the two politicians and Cassidy lost his seat to O'Rourke at the2007 general electionwhen both candidates contested theLongford–Westmeathconstituency. The fact that Cassidy lost most of his home base of Castlepollard and north Westmeath due to the redrawing of the constituency did not help him. On 22 June 2007, Cassidy wasnominated by the TaoiseachBertie AherntoSeanad Éireannand was appointed Leader of the Seanad for the remaining weeks of the22nd Seanad's existence. Cassidy was subsequently elected to theLabour Panelat the 2007 Seanad general election and wasLeader of the Seanaduntil March 2011. He lost his seat at the 2011 Seanad election.

Golfgate

Cassidy was President of theOireachtas Golf Societyduring the "GolfGate" controversy in August 2020, in which 81 prominent figures attended a dinner inClifden,County Galwayduring COVID-19 restrictions.

Cassidy resigned on 23 August 2020 as vice president ofFianna Fáilfollowing criticism of his arranging of the event. In a statement, he said: "In light of the ongoing controversy surrounding the Oireachtas Golf Society dinner in Clifden, and due to the fact that the matter is subject to a garda investigation, I tendered my resignation as Leas Úachtaráin of Fianna Fáil to Sean Dorgan General Secretary yesterday."

In February 2021, it was announced by theGarda Síochánathat Cassidy is to face charges over alleged breaches of COVID-19 regulations by arranging by golf dinner.On 3 February 2022, Cassidy and his co-defendants were acquitted of all charges they faced. The Court concluded: “They were all responsible people who would not have gone to a dinner unless they felt comfortable and unless the organisers had not put in place all that was required to make it safe. I’m satisfied the organisers did everything to comply - not in a court of public opinion - but in the court of law in my opinion. Unfortunately, very good people lost very good jobs and very good contracts and just to clarify, I didn’t make my decision based on that." Grealish said he was "delighted with the outcome". Done Cassidy, described as being emotional when leaving the court,said he was always a lawmaker and never a law-breaker.

Business interests

Cassidy owns four hotels, including one on the former site of theNational Wax Museumas well asThe Belvedere Hotelon Great Denmark Street.He also owns Celtic Note, a specialist Irish music store on Dublin's Nassau Street and since 1984 has had the franchise to sell CDs and DVDs at Dublin Airport. He also owns several buildings inMullingar.His other interests include record and music publishing companies. He owns the publishing rights to many well known songs such as 'Grace' and 'My Lovely Rose of Clare'.