Constituency Donegal North–East Role Former Teachta Dala Resigned February 1, 2011 Name Niall Blaney Political party Fianna Fail | Children 3 Spouse Rosaleen Shovelin Nationality Irish Died 1995 | |
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Born 29 January 1974 ( 1974-01-29 ) Other political
affiliations Independent Fianna Fail (until 2006) Alma mater Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT) Education Letterkenny Institute of Technology Previous office Member of Dail Eireann (2007–2011) | ||
Niall Blaney (born 29 January 1974) is a former elected Irish politician. A member of Independent Fianna Fáil until he joined Fianna Fáil in 2006, he served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Donegal North-East from 2002 to 2011. For personal reasons, he decided not to contest the 2011 general election.
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He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Industrial and Commercial Panel of the Seanad in April 2016.
Political career
Born in Letterkenny, County Donegal in 1974, Niall Blaney hails from a family with a long political history. His grandfather Neal Blaney, his uncle Neil Blaney, and his father Harry Blaney all preceded him as TDs.
Blaney graduated from Letterkenny Institute of Technology with a diploma in civil engineering. He first became involved in politics when he was elected to Donegal County Council in 1999. Three years later, in the 2002 general election, he won election to Dáil Éireann, capturing the third seat in the Donegal North-East constituency after Fianna Fáil's Jim McDaid and Cecilia Keaveney.
Blaney started his political career as a member of Independent Fianna Fáil, a splinter group created by his uncle Neil T. Blaney when he was expelled from Fianna Fáil over the Arms Crisis of 1969–70. As a supporter of the Fianna Fáil–led coalition government upon his election to the Dáil, Blaney was widely anticipated to join Fianna Fáil and stand as a candidate for that party at the 2007 general election. Although some members of the Blaney family opposed the move, Niall Blaney announced on 26 July 2006 that he had joined the Fianna Fáil party, a move that marked the effective end of Independent Fianna Fáil.
In the 2007 general election, Blaney again won the third seat in the constituency, after Fine Gael's Joe McHugh and Fianna Fáil's Jim McDaid. He was elected on the eighth count after a closely fought struggle with Sinn Féin councillor Pádraig Mac Lochlainn. He tried to resurrect his political career by running for the 2016 Seanad election, but failed to be elected and was eliminated after the 27th count which probably signaled an end to his political career.
Retirement from politics 2011-2016
In a surprise statement on 30 January 2011, just hours before a Fianna Fáil selection convention for his constituency, Blaney announced that he would not be contesting the 2011 general election. He cited "personal reasons" for his decision. He subsequently failed in a 2016 attempt to gain a Seanad seat.
Personal life
Blaney married Rosaleen in August 2002 and the couple had three children together. On 9 January 2011, at a political meeting at the Silver Tassie Hotel, Letterkenny, Blaney disclosed that he and his wife had agreed to an amicable separation and that he had moved out of the family home in Rosnakill, Fanad.