Daniel Cassidy (born 15 September 1945) is a former Irish

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...

politician who served as

Leader of the Seanad The Leader of the Seanad (referred to within the Seanad as Leader of the House ga, Treoraí an Tí) is a member of Seanad Éireann appointed by the Taoiseach to direct government business. Since December 2022, the incumbent is Lisa Chambers of ...

from 2007 to 2011. He served as a Senator for the

Labour Panel The Labour Panel ( ga, An Rolla Oibreachais) is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Labour Panel elects eleven senators. ...

from 1982 to 2002 and 2007 to 2011 and a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...

(TD) for the

Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...

constituency from 2002 to 2007.

Early and personal life

Cassidy was born in

Castlepollard Castlepollard ( or ''Cionn Toirc'') is a village in north County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland. It lies west of Lough Lene and northeast of Lough Derravaragh and Mullingar. Name The name ''Castlepollard'' comes from the name of a castle or ...

in County Westmeath. He came to prominence in Ireland through the show band scene. A saxophone player with Jim Tobin and the Firehouse, he moved into showbusiness management. He was the manager of

Foster and Allen Foster and Allen are a musical duo from Ireland consisting of Mick Foster and Tony Allen. In their 47-year career, they have released over 52 albums, many of which entered the UK Albums Chart. Along with "A Bunch of Thyme" (entering the Irish ch ...

, a popular singing duo that enjoyed success inside and outside Ireland.

Political career

He first became involved in politics in 1982 when he was elected as a Fianna Fáil Senator for the

. He was a member of

Westmeath County Council Westmeath County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae na hIarmhí) is the authority responsible for local government in County Westmeath, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible fo ...

from 1985 until 2003 at which point he resigned from the council due to the abolition of the dual mandate. Cassidy was elected to Dáil Éireann for the

constituency at the 2002 general election, taking the seat of sitting TD and Government Minister

Mary O'Rourke Mary O'Rourke (; born 31 May 1937) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Leader of the Seanad and Leader of Fianna Fáil in the Seanad from 2002 to 2007, Deputy leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2002, Minister for Public ...

. This created a rift between the two politicians and Cassidy lost his seat to O'Rourke at the 2007 general election when both candidates contested the Longford–Westmeath constituency. The fact that Cassidy lost most of his home base of Castlepollard and north Westmeath due to the redrawing of the constituency did not help him. On 22 June 2007, Cassidy was

nominated by the Taoiseach A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...

and was appointed Leader of the Seanad for the remaining weeks of the

22nd Seanad This is a list of the members of the 22nd Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These Senators were elected or appointed in 2002, after the 2002 general election and served until the close of poll for the ...

's existence. Cassidy was subsequently elected to the

at the 2007 Seanad general election and was

until March 2011. He lost his seat at the 2011 Seanad election.

Golfgate

Cassidy was President of the Oireachtas Golf Society during the "GolfGate" controversy in August 2020, in which 81 prominent figures attended a dinner in

Clifden Clifden (, meaning "stepping stones") is a coastal town in County Galway, Ireland, in the region of Connemara, located on the Owenglin River where it flows into Clifden Bay. As the largest town in the region, it is often referred to as "the Capi ...

, County Galway during COVID-19 restrictions. Cassidy resigned on 23 August 2020 as vice president of

following criticism of his arranging of the event. In a statement, he said: "In light of the ongoing controversy surrounding the Oireachtas Golf Society dinner in Clifden, and due to the fact that the matter is subject to a garda investigation, I tendered my resignation as Leas Úachtaráin of Fianna Fáil to Sean Dorgan General Secretary yesterday." In February 2021, it was announced by the Garda Síochána that Cassidy is to face charges over alleged breaches of Covid-19 regulations by arranging by golf dinner. On 3 February 2022, Cassidy and his co-defendants were acquitted of all charges they faced. The Court concluded: “They were all responsible people who would not have gone to a dinner unless they felt comfortable and unless the organisers had not put in place all that was required to make it safe. I’m satisfied the organisers did everything to comply - not in a court of public opinion - but in the court of law in my opinion. Unfortunately, very good people lost very good jobs and very good contracts and just to clarify, I didn’t make my decision based on that." Grealish said he was "delighted with the outcome". Done Cassidy, described as being emotional when leaving the court,said he was always a lawmaker and never a law-breaker.

Business interests

Cassidy owns four hotels, including one on the former site of the National Wax Museum as well as The Belvedere Hotel on Great Denmark Street. He also owns Celtic Note, a specialist Irish music store on Dublin's Nassau Street and since 1984 has had the franchise to sell CDs and DVDs at Dublin Airport. He also owns several buildings in

Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, with a population of 20,928 in the 2016 census. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 proclaimed Westmeath ...

. His other interests include record and music publishing companies. He owns the publishing rights to many well known songs such as 'Grace' and 'My Lovely Rose of Clare'.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassidy, Donie 1945 births Living people Fianna Fáil TDs Irish businesspeople Local councillors in County Westmeath Members of the 16th Seanad Members of the 17th Seanad Members of the 18th Seanad Members of the 19th Seanad Members of the 20th Seanad Members of the 21st Seanad Members of the 29th Dáil Members of the 22nd Seanad Members of the 23rd Seanad Politicians from County Westmeath Nominated members of Seanad Éireann Fianna Fáil senators