Brendan McGahon

Brendan McGahon (born 22 November 1936) is an a former Irish Fine Gael politician. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the constituency of Louth.

Often described as 'colourful' and with a reputation as a social conservative, McGahon was first elected to Dáil Éireann in the November 1982 general election and retained his seat until retiring at the 2002 general election.

Brendan McGahon was born in Dundalk, County Louth on November 1, 1936 and was educated at St. Mary's College in Dundalk. He was born into a political family. His grandfather, T.F. McGahon, was one of the inaugural members of Dundalk Urban District Council when it was created along with other Irish local authorities by the British Government in 1898. T.F. McGahon was a leading light in the Irish Parliamentary Party and in the Ancient Order of Hibernians. He started a local newspaper, the Dundalk Democrat which was supportive of the IPP. T.F. was a critic of the War of Independence campaign, of Sinn Féin, and of the then IRA, arguing that the campaign would result in the partition of Ireland. He was later succeeded on the council by his son, O.B. McGahon. The family subsequently supported the National League and the Independent TD James Coburn and joined Fine Gael when Coburn joined the party. Brendan took over the running of the family newspaper business in the 1960s and succeeded his father, O.B., on Dundalk Town Council and on Louth County Council. He had played soccer for Dundalk FC in the Premier Division for a number of years. He was first elected to Dáil Eireann in the November 1982 General Election for the constituency of Louth defeating incumbent Fine Gael TD, Bernard Markey. He was re-elected at the next five general elections. He was an unsuccessful candidate in the 1981 General Election and in the February 1982 General Election. A maverick and outspoken TD he was known to speak his mind on many issues including divorce, crime, single mothers, the drinks industry and was an outspoken critic of the Provisional IRA throughout his time in politics.He once advocated that paedophiles should be castrated as part of their prison sentence and was the only TD to oppose the referendum to abolish the death penalty from the Constitution. He also argued that those aged under 21 years of age should not be able to drive or drink. He did not contest the 2002 General Election and retired from politics. In effect his seat was won by Sinn Féin's Arthur Morgan while Fergus O'Dowd defeated his fellow Drogheda candidate, Michael Bell thus maintaining the 3:1 north versus south Louth political representation in the county. Brendan was one if the instigators of the cross-party Oireachtas syndicate who purchased the racehorse Arctic Copper.

Following the rejection of the Nice Treaty in 2001 he said that the No vote "showed the huge amount of ignorance of political affairs in this country and underlines the need for politics to be taught in schools." He added: "I think people are totally politically unaware and are more interested in watching Coronation Street or Fair City and are not living in the real world. It is a classic irony that a country which has benefited most from Europe denies the opportunity to other less privileged European countries." statement by Fine Gael TD, Brendan McGahon when he said; "I regard homosexuals as being in a sad category, but I believe homosexuality to be an abnormality, some type of psycho-sexual problem that has defied explanation over the years. I do not believe that the Irish people desire this normalisation of what is clearly an abnormality. Homosexuality is a departure from normality and while homosexuals deserve our compassion they do not deserve our tolerance. That is how the man in the street thinks. I know of no homosexual who has been discriminated against. Such people have a persecution complex because they know they are different from the masses or normal society. They endure inner torment and it is not a question of the way others view them. The lord provided us with sexual organs for a specific purpose. Homosexuals are like lefthand drivers driving on the right-hand side of the road

In February 2006 speaking to the Oireachtas Sub-Committe examing the Barron Report McGahon announced he was wrong in 1993 to blame the IRA for the murder of the county Louth Fine Gael election worker, Seamus Ludlow in the 1970s. "I was wrong but only hindsight has proven me wrong," he told the Oireachtas sub-committee inquiry into the Barron Report. The ex-Fine Gael TD said he was given the information at the time by a garda, but he couldn’t remember his name. The Ludlow case is currently being examined as one of a number of instances of collusion involving Loyalist paramilatries and the British Security Forces. Brendan currently lives in Ravensdale, County Louth. His son, Conor, was a councillor from 1991-99 and his brother, Johnny, lost his seat in the 2004 Local Elections ending the family's 106 year long representation on Dundalk Town Council

References

*oireachtas-database