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Jimmy Harte

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Jimmy Harte
Senator
In office
April 2011 – September 2015
ConstituencyIndustrial and Commercial Panel
Donegal County Councillor
In office
June 1999 – April 2011
ConstituencyLetterkenny
Personal details
Born(1958-02-27)27 February 1958(age 66)
Lifford,County Donegal,Ireland
Political partyLabour Party
Other political
affiliations		Fine Gael(1994–2006)
SpouseMary Galligan[1]
Children4
Alma materUniversity College Dublin
Websitejimmyharte.wordpress

James Harte(born 27 February 1958) is an Irish formerLabour Partypolitician and was a member ofSeanad Éireannfrom April 2011 to September 2015.[2]

Formerly an elected representative ofFine Gael,he left after failing to win the party's nomination for the 2007 general election, and ran unsuccessfully as an independent instead. He joined the Labour Party in 2010, running unsuccessfully for that party at the 2011 general election but was subsequently elected to the Seanad.

Background[edit]

Harte was educated atSt Eunan's CollegeinLetterkenny,[3]and obtained a B.A. in Psychology fromUniversity College Dublin.He set up his own insurance broker business, Harte Insurances, at the age of 24.

The son of formerFine GaelTDPaddy Harte,he was elected as a Fine Gael candidate toLetterkenny Town Councilin 1994 and subsequently toDonegal County Councilin 1999. In 2006 he resigned from Fine Gael after failing to secure a nomination from the party to contest theDonegal North-Eastconstituency for the2007 general election.He subsequently stood as an independent candidate at that election but was not elected.[4]

National politics[edit]

Harte joined the Labour Party in 2010 and was that party's candidate for the2011 general electionfor Donegal North-East, where he was unsuccessful in winning a seat.[4]Harte was subsequently elected toSeanad Éireannon theIndustrial and Commercial Panelin April 2011. He became the Labour Party Seanad spokesperson on Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation.

In February 2012, he offered to pay for the flight of a Polish worker living in Donegal to return "home" to stop her receiving unemployment benefit and FAS training. It later transpired the article was mistranslated from Polish.[citation needed]After it became apparent the article Harte was talking about was mistranslated many people took to Twitter to question him about his opinion. In response Harte began to insult various users. He also accused some users of being xenophobic against Donegal while at the same time accusing other users of being "D4 types" in a derogatory manner. He later removed his comments, though accepted full responsibility for them.[5][6][7]

Health[edit]

In the early hours of 16 November 2013, Harte was found unconscious at Newmarket Square, Dublin with severe head injuries, having suffered a fall. He was taken toBeaumont Hospitaland put in aninduced coma,and underwent surgery for afractured skullandbrain trauma.[8]He had attended theIreland–Latvia soccer friendlyat theAviva Stadiumsome hours earlier.[9]In late November 2013, he moved his hand.[10]In January 2014, Harte was transferred back to Beaumont Hospital in a critical condition.[11]

Harte resigned from the Seanad on 23 September 2015,[12]and underwent rehabilitative care for 2 years.[13]As of May 2020, he is in Larissa Lodge Nursing Home.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^abWalsh, Harry (9 May 2020)."A song a day keeps the blues away".Donegal News.Archivedfrom the original on 9 June 2020.Retrieved27 September2021.
  2. ^"Jimmy Harte".Oireachtas Members Database.Archivedfrom the original on 7 November 2018.Retrieved5 November2011.
  3. ^Collins, Stephen(2011).Nealon's Guide to the 31st Dáil and 24th Seanad.Dublin: Gill & Macmillan. p. 203.ISBN9780717150595.
  4. ^ab"Jimmy Harte".ElectionsIreland.org.Archivedfrom the original on 15 March 2011.Retrieved29 April2011.
  5. ^"Senator Harte says sorry for Twitter outburst in wake of Magda story".Highland Radio.2 February 2012.Archivedfrom the original on 9 March 2015.Retrieved2 February2012.
  6. ^"Labour Senator apologises for Twitter comments".Irish Examiner.2 February 2012.Archivedfrom the original on 9 March 2015.Retrieved2 February2012.
  7. ^"Labour Senator apologises over Twitter insults following 'Magda' controversy".The Journal.ie.2 February 2012.Archivedfrom the original on 9 March 2015.Retrieved2 February2012.
  8. ^"Labour senator Jimmy Harte in critical condition in hospital".Irish Independent.16 November 2013.Archivedfrom the original on 17 November 2013.Retrieved17 November2013.
  9. ^"Labour Senator Jimmy Harte remains in critical but stable condition".TheJournal.ie.18 November 2014.Archivedfrom the original on 9 March 2015.Retrieved18 November2014.
  10. ^"Senator Harte showing small signs of possible recovery".Donegal Daily.26 November 2013.Archivedfrom the original on 25 May 2014.Retrieved26 November2013.
  11. ^"Labour senator Jimmy Harte transferred back to Dublin, remains in critical condition".TheJournal.ie.17 January 2014.Archivedfrom the original on 9 March 2015.Retrieved17 January2014.
  12. ^"Labour Senator Jimmy Harte resigns from Upper House".The Irish Times.23 September 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 4 March 2016.Retrieved27 September2021.
  13. ^"'Miracle' recovery for Labour's Jimmy Harte ".Irish Independent.26 September 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 1 October 2015.Retrieved27 September2021.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jimmy_Harte&oldid=1173523801"