Eddie McGrady
Eddie McGrady | |
|---|---|
 | |
| In office 12 June 1987 – 12 April 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Enoch Powell |
| Succeeded by | Margaret Ritchie |
| Constituency | South Down |
| Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for South Down | |
| In office 25 June 1998 – 26 November 2003 | |
| Preceded by | New Creation |
| Succeeded by | Margaret Ritchie |
| Personal details | |
| Born | religion Roman Catholic 3 June 1935 Downpatrick, Northern Ireland |
| Died | 11 November 2013 (aged 78) Downpatrick, Northern Ireland |
| Resting place | religion Roman Catholic |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Political party | SDLP |
| Spouse | Patricia McGrady |
| Children | Paula Jerry Conaill |
| Parent |
|
| Alma mater | Belfast Technical College |
| Profession | Accountant |
Edward Kevin McGrady (3 June 1935 – 11 November 2013) was an Irish nationalist politician from Northern Ireland and a member of the United Kingdom Parliament for South Down.[1]
Early life
Born in Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland, one of eleven children, McGrady was educated at St Patrick's Grammar School, Downpatrick and at Belfast Technical College, where he trained as a chartered accountant, subsequently entering his family's accountancy firm.
Political career
McGrady entered politics in 1961[2] as an independent nationalist councillor on Downpatrick Urban Council, serving as chairman from 1964 until the council was replaced by Down District Council in 1973.
In the late 1960s he joined the National Democrats and stood for the party in the 1969 election to the Parliament of Northern Ireland in East Down, losing to the sitting MP and future Prime Minister of Northern Ireland Brian Faulkner.[3]
In 1970, he became a founder member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) later serving as its first chairman (from 1971-1973.) He sat on Down district council from 1973 to 1989, serving as chairman from 1974–1975 and was also elected to all three regional assemblies in 1973, 1975 and 1982 representing South Down. In the 1973 power sharing executive he was appointed as Head of the Department of Executive Planning and Co-ordination serving from January to May 1974.
In Westminster elections he contested South Down unsuccessfully in 1979, 1983 and at the by-election of January 1986, losing on each occasion to Enoch Powell, the sitting MP. He succeeded at the fourth attempt in the general election of 1987 and held the seat until retiring in 2010. His tenure was briefly threatened in the mid 1990s when the Boundary Commission suggested merging much of his constituency with the neighbouring Newry and Armagh constituency to form a new 'Newry and Mourne' constituency. This was overturned during a local review which preserved his seat and actually removed more Unionist sections such as Dromore. McGrady's support held solid over the years despite talk of a slippage and this was reinforced in the 2005 Westminster election with his re-election to the House of Commons.[citation needed]
McGrady formerly sat on the Northern Ireland Policing Board and was a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly between 1998 and 2003.
On 25 February 2010, McGrady announced that he would stand down at the 2010 General Election.[4]
McGrady continued to be chairperson of the Lecale Branch of the SDLP.[5]
References
- ^ "BBC News - Former SDLP South Down MP Eddie McGrady dies". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ^ "CAIN: People: Biographies of People Prominent During 'the Troubles' - Mc". Conflict Archive on the Internet.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election Results: Counties: Down". United Kingdom Election Results.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "NI MP to step down after 23 years". BBC News Online. 25 February 2010.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Ritchie, John". Retrieved 25 February 2013.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)
External links
- 1935 births
- 2013 deaths
- Social Democratic and Labour Party MLAs
- National Democratic Party (Northern Ireland) politicians
- Councillors in Northern Ireland
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Northern Irish constituencies
- UK MPs 1987–92
- UK MPs 1992–97
- UK MPs 1997–2001
- UK MPs 2001–05
- UK MPs 2005–10
- Social Democratic and Labour Party MPs (UK)
- Members of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
- Members of the Northern Ireland Forum
- Northern Ireland MPAs 1973–74
- Northern Ireland MPAs 1982–86
- Northern Ireland MLAs 1998–2003
- People from Downpatrick
- People educated at St Patrick's Grammar School, Downpatrick