Eddie McGrady | |
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Member of Parliament for South Down | |
In office 12 June 1987 β 12 April 2010 | |
Preceded by | Enoch Powell |
Succeeded by | Margaret Ritchie |
Member of theββLegislative Assembly for South Down | |
In office 25 June 1998 β 26 November 2003 | |
Preceded by | Office created |
Succeeded by | Margaret Ritchie |
Personal details | |
Born | (1935-06-03)3 June 1935 Downpatrick, Northern Ireland |
Died | 11 November 2013(2013-11-11) (aged 78) Downpatrick, Northern Ireland |
Nationality | Irish |
Political party | SDLP |
Spouse | Patricia McGrady |
Children | Paula Jerry Conaill |
Alma mater | Belfast Technical College |
Profession | Accountant |
Edward Kevin McGrady (3 June 1935 β 11 November 2013) was an Irish nationalist politician of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Down from 1987ββto 2010.
McGrady was also a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for South Down from 1998ββto 2003.
Early lifeβ»
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 careerβ»
McGrady entered politics in 1961 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.
In 1970 he became a founder member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), later serving as its first chairman (from 1971β1973). He sat on Down District Council from 1973 to 1989, serving as chairman from 1974β1975 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 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.
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.
McGrady continued to be, chairperson of the Lecale Branch of the SDLP.
Referencesβ»
- ^ "BBC News β Former SDLP South Down MP Eddie McGrady dies". BBC News. Bbc.co.uk. 12 November 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
- ^ "CAIN: People: Biographies of People Prominent During 'the Troubles' β Mc". Conflict Archive on the Internet.
- ^ "Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election Results: Counties: Down". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 16 January 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
- ^ "NI MP to step down after 23 years". BBC News Online. 25 February 2010.
- ^ "Ritchie, John". Retrieved 25 February 2013.
External linksβ»
- Hansard 1803β2005: contributions in Parliament by Eddie McGrady
- Guardian Politics β Ask Aristotle: Eddie McGrady MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com β Eddie McGrady MP
Northern Ireland Assembly (1973) | ||
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New assembly | Assembly Member for South Down 1973β1974 |
Assembly abolished |
Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention | ||
New convention | Member for South Down 1975β1976 |
Convention dissolved |
Northern Ireland Assembly (1982) | ||
New assembly | MPA for South Down 1982β1986 |
Assembly abolished |
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
Preceded by | Member of Parliament for South Down 1987β2010 |
Succeeded by |
Northern Ireland Forum | ||
New forum | Member for South Down 1996β1998 |
Forum dissolved |
Northern Ireland Assembly | ||
New assembly | MLA for Down South 1998β2003 |
Succeeded by |
Party political offices | ||
New title | Chairperson of the Social Democratic and Labour Party 1971β1973 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Chairperson of the Social Democratic and Labour Party 2007β2009 |
Succeeded by |
- 1935 births
- 2013 deaths
- Social Democratic and Labour Party MLAs
- National Democratic Party (Northern Ireland) politicians
- Members of Down District Council
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Down constituencies (since 1922)
- UK MPs 1987β1992
- UK MPs 1992β1997
- UK MPs 1997β2001
- UK MPs 2001β2005
- UK MPs 2005β2010
- Social Democratic and Labour Party MPs (UK)
- Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1973β1974
- Members of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
- Northern Ireland MPAs 1982β1986
- Members of the Northern Ireland Forum
- Northern Ireland MLAs 1998β2003
- People from Downpatrick
- People educated at St Patrick's Grammar School, Downpatrick
- Politicians from County Down
- Junior ministers of the 1974 Northern Ireland Assembly
- Social Democratic and Labour Party councillors