Niall Blaney

Not to be confused with Neal Blaney or Neil Blaney.

Niall Blaney
Teachta Dála
In office May 2002 – February 2011
Constituency	Donegal North East
Personal details
Born	29 January 1974 (1974-01-29) (age 37)
Nationality	Irish
Political party	Fianna Fáil
Other political affiliations	Independent Fianna Fáil (until 2006)
Spouse(s)	Rosaleen Shovelin (sep.)
Children	3
Alma mater	Letterkenny Institute of Technology
Website	Official website

Niall Blaney (born 29 January 1974) is a former 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.^[1] For personal reasons, he decided not to contest the 2011 general election.

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.^[2]

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.

Retirement from politics

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.^[3]

Personal life

Blaney married Rosaleen Shovelin 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.^[4]

See also

• Families in the Oireachtas

References

1. ^ "Mr. Niall Blaney". Oireachtas Members Database. http://oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0&HouseNum=30&MemberID=1812&ConstID=50. Retrieved 31 August 2009. 
2. ^ "Niall Blaney". ElectionsIreland.org. http://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=4770. Retrieved 31 August 2009. 
3. ^ "O'Flynn & Blaney not running in election". RTÉ News. 30 January 2011. http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0130/politics_oflynnn.html. Retrieved 30 January 2011. 
4. ^ "How Blaney dropped bombshell weeks after marriage break-up". Irish Independent. 01 February 2011. http://www.independent.ie/national-news/how-blaney-dropped-bombshell-weeks-after-marriage-breakup-2518886.html. Retrieved 01 February 2011. 

External links

• [1] Newstalk 106 radio interview with Eamonn Blaney (son of Neil Blaney) discussing the merger with Fianna Fáil, July 2006
• [2] Google cache of Sunday Business Post article discussing the possible merger
• [3] Village magazine article, 13 July 2006
• [4] Statement by Bertie Ahern on the merger, 26 July 2006

Oireachtas
Preceded by Harry Blaney (Independent Fianna Fáil)	Independent Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála for Donegal North East 2002–2006	Succeeded by Himself as Fianna Fáil TD
Preceded by Himself as Independent Fianna Fáil TD	Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála for Donegal North East 2006–2011	Succeeded by Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Féin)

Persondata
Name	Blaney, Niall
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	29 January 1974
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death