Kieran Deeny
Kieran Deeny | |
|---|---|
| Member of theNorthern Ireland Assembly forWest Tyrone | |
| In office 26 November 2003 – 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Joe Byrne |
| Succeeded by | Joe Byrne |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 October 1954 Downpatrick,Northern Ireland |
| Political party | Independent |
| Alma mater | University College Dublin |
Kieran Deeny(born 12 October 1954) is amedical doctorturned politician fromNorthern Ireland.Deeny was aDesignated OtherMemberof theNorthern Ireland AssemblyforWest Tyrone(MLA) from 2003 to 2011, having run on a single issue ticket of retaining theTyrone County HospitalinOmagh.
Early life[edit]
Deeny was born inDownpatrickwhere he attended St. Patrick's Boy's Primary School and thenSt Patrick's Grammar School.During this time he regularly participated in several sports, representing Ulster Schools attable tennis,representingDownin theGaelic Athletic Associationand playingfootballin both theIrish LeagueandLeague of Irelandin the early 1970s.
He studied atUniversity College Dublinand worked as ageneral practitionerinCounty Tyronefrom the mid-1980s onwards. From 2000 he also served as Chairman ofOmagh and District G.P. Associationand took a prominent role in the campaign to keep full medical provision at theTyrone County Hospital.
Political career[edit]
In the2003 Northern Ireland assembly electionsDeeny ran as an independent candidate in West Tyrone on the sole issue of retaining the hospital and generated one of the biggest shocks of that election when he topped the poll and took a seat from theSocial Democratic and Labour Party.However, the continued suspension of the Assembly meant that Deeny was not able to directly influence decisions about the future of the hospital.
In the2005 general electionDeeny stood for the Westminster seat, campaigning heavily against sitting MPPat Doherty's abstentionism and arguing that this denied the seat a voice, and received a lot of backing from many activists and supporters of both Nationalist and Unionist political parties, though all the major parties ran candidates. Deeny received over 11,000 votes and placed second in the election to Pat Doherty.
In the2007 Assembly electionsDeeny was elected on the seventh count with 3,776 first preference votes. His campaign was again largely based on a single issue – the impending closure of the Sion Mills branch surgery.
He sat with theAlliance Partyand theGreen Party'sBrian Wilsonas "United Community MLA's".
On 16 May 2007, Deeny changed his status as an Independent to becomeparty leaderand a member of theIndependent Health Coalitionin the Assembly.[1]
Kieran was a member of theHealth, Social Services and Public Safety Committeein the Assembly.
He did not contest the 2011 Assembly election.[2]
See also[edit]
Other medical doctors & health care workers elected on similar platform in Ireland and the UK:
- Paudge Connolly– elected to the Dáil.
- Richard Taylor– elected to the UK Parliament
- Jean Turner– elected to the Scottish Parliament
- Liam Twomey– elected to the Dáil as an Independent (joinedFine Gael.
References[edit]
- ^"Establishment of the Independent Health Coalition".TheyWorkForYou.
- ^"BBC News – Dr Kieran Deeny won't contest next assembly election".BBC News.BBC News. 10 March 2011.Retrieved30 August2012.
External links[edit]
- 1954 births
- Living people
- League of Ireland players
- Sportspeople from Downpatrick
- General practitioners from Northern Ireland
- Northern Ireland MLAs 2003–2007
- Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011
- Independent members of the Northern Ireland Assembly
- Republic of Ireland men's association footballers
- Association footballers from County Down
- Medical doctors from County Tyrone
- Police officers from County Tyrone