Preceded by New Creation Name Barry McElduff Nationality Irish | Political party Sinn Fein Spouse Paula McElduff Website Barry McElduff MLA Party Sinn Fein | |
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Born 16 August 1966 (age 58) Aghagogan, Northern Ireland ( 1966-08-16 ) Education | ||
Barry mcelduff
Barry McElduff MP (Irish: Barra Mac Giolla Duibh, born 16 August 1966) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician. He is the Member of Parliament (MP) for the West Tyrone constituency. He was also a Member of the Legislative Assembly in the Northern Ireland Assembly from its creation in 1998 until his election as MP in 2017.
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Barry McElduff MLA
History
Born in County Tyrone, and from Aghagogan townland, McElduff attended the Christian Brothers Grammar School in Omagh before attending Queen's University Belfast and becoming an Irish republican activist for Sinn Féin.
At the 1992 general election, he unsuccessfully contested Mid Ulster. That same year, McElduff was given an 18-month suspended sentence for helping in the false imprisonment of a Protestant whom the IRA suspected of being an informer. The victim was interrogated by three masked IRA men in Sinn Féin's Dungannon offices. The court heard that McElduff had saved the victim from execution. He was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum for the West Tyrone constituency in 1996, and has since held this seat on the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Barry has chaired the Culture, Arts and Leisure Committee of the Assembly and has served previously on other committees, including Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister, Education and Employment and Learning.
In 2000, McElduff was elected to Omagh District Council. McElduff visited Scotland to learn more about potential Scottish independence. In reference to the trip, he said, "I travelled to Edinburgh with the outlook that it is a matter for the people of Scotland to decide their own future." At the snap general election held on 8 June 2017, he became MP for West Tyrone.
Personal life
McElduff has a strong interest in Gaelic games and the Irish language.
