Dana Rosemary Scallon
Dana Rosemary Scallon, formerly Dana (born August 30, 1951), is a successful former singer turned Irish politician. She took the name Dana professionally as it is a Gaelic word meaning "bold" (it also means "mischievous", but it is unlikely this is the meaning she wished to use).
Scallon was born Rosemary Brown in Derry, Northern Ireland. In 1970 as a teenager she represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest, singing All Kinds of Everything (written by Derry Lindsay and Jackie Smith), and brought home the country's first victory in the contest. She had some minor hits in the British and Irish music charts subsequently. Always extremely religious, she became more famous for singing religious songs, such as Totus Tuus ("We are all yours"), commemorating the visit of Pope John Paul II to Ireland in 1979.
In the 1980s, she moved with her husband, Damien Scallon, and family to the United States, where they were involved with a Christian broadcasting network. She has more recently been affiliated with the Alabama-based Roman Catholic Eternal Word Television Network founded by Mother Angelica.
She returned to Ireland in 1997 to become a candidate for the office of President of Ireland where, though an independent candidate with no party political organisation behind her, she came in a credible third, ahead of the candidate of the mainstream Labour Party. In 1999, again as an independent, she contested and won a seat in the European Parliament representing the Connacht-Ulster European elections constituency.
She has declined to associate with any political party. She campaigns on "family values", most notably in her opposition to abortion. Her decision in 2001 to oppose a government proposed amendment to the Irish constitution to place some restrictions on abortion, which put her at variance with many pro-life organizations, the mainstream political parties and the Roman Catholic Bishops in Ireland, on the basis that in her eyes the anti-abortion amendment would introduce certain loopholes, lost her much of her original support. The defeat of that amendment was blamed on ultra-conservative elements, who were accused by other anti-abortion campaigners of destroying the likely last chance to impose stricter abortion restrictions in Ireland.
In 2002, Scallon contested a seat in Galway West in the Irish general election, again as an independent. In what was seen as a backlash against her stance in the previous abortion referendum, she lost disastrously, scoring just 3.5% of the vote in her constituency.
Scallon lost her seat in the elections to the European Parliament in June 2004, although her share of the vote on that occasion (13.5%) was somewhat higher than opinion polls had indicated in advance of the election.
In 2004, Scallon again set her sights on the office of President of Ireland, but the incumbent, Mary McAleese of Fianna Fail, was re-elected uncontested when Scallon failed to secure a nomination.
Singles
- 1970 All Kinds Of Everything U.K. No.1
- 1971 Who Put The Lights Out U.K. No.14
- 1975 Please Tell Him That I Said Hello U.K. No.8
- 1975 It's Gonna Be A Cold Cold Christmas U.K. No.4
- 1976 Never Gonna Fall In Love Again U.K. No.31
- 1976 Fairytale U.K. No.13
- 1979 Something's Cookin' In The Kitchen U.K. No.44
- 1982 I Feel Love Comin' On U.K. No.66
Political career
- 1997 - run for presidency of Ireland in Irish presidential election, 1997 (finished 3rd of 5)
- 1999 - elected to the European Parliament
- 2004 - lost European Parliament seat
- 2004 - failed to get nomination to run in Irish presidential election, 2004