Fintan Warfield (born 1992) is an Irish

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

politician who has served as a Senator for the

Cultural and Educational Panel The Cultural and Educational Panel () 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 Cultural and Educational Panel elects five ...

since April 2016. As of 2017, he was the youngest senator in Ireland.

Early life and education

Warfield attended St Mac Dara's Community College. He was a

Gaelic footballer Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

for St Jude's, a sport he has also played with Dublin Devils F.C., as well as being a supporter of St Patrick's Athletic. At 17, Warfield moved to

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in Film & Television from

Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology The Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT; ga, Institúid Teicneolaíochta na Gaillimhe-Maigh Eo) was an institute of technology, located in Galway, Ireland. In April 2022, it was formally dissolved, and its functions were transferred to ...

(GMIT) in 2012. He moved back to Dublin upon graduation.

Career

Warfield was the Mayor of

South Dublin County Council South Dublin County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Átha Cliath Theas) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of South Dublin, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities created by the Local Government (Dublin) Act ...

from 2014 to 2015, and is an openly gay LGBT activist. He donated 10% of his mayoral salary to a women's refuge, LGBT group

BeLonG To BeLonG To is an LGBT youth organisation in Ireland which caters for young people aged between 14–23 years. It is a registered charity and is supported by the Irish Department of Education. The service was set up in March 2003. The group rece ...

and Citywise (known for providing youths with educational support in Jobstown). Warfield was the first senator in the country to be elected in the 2016 Seanad elections, topping the poll on the Cultural and Educational Panel on 25 April 2016. He also won the most first preference votes of any candidate contesting the five vocational panel elections. Since his election to the Seanad, he has tabled two legislative bills: The Electoral (Amendment) (Voting at 16) Bill 2016, which aimed to lower the voting age to sixteen in local and European elections; and the Gender Recognition (Amendment) Bill 2017, which aimed to give gender identity rights to

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

and

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

young people. He is the Sinn Féin Seanad Spokesperson on Youth affairs, LGBT rights and the Arts. On 31 March 2020, Warfield was re-elected to

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 ...

following the 2020 election to the upper house. In July 2020, Warfield made reports to the

Garda Siochána Garda may refer to: * Police, known as Garda in Hiberno-English * Garda (security company), a security and protection company headquartered in Montreal, Canada * Garda Síochána, the national police of the Republic of Ireland * Garda National Su ...

following escalating online and offline homophobic harassment and abuse that started to extend to threats against members of his family. This came after he had made a speech in the Seanad in support of

transgender rights A transgender person is someone whose gender identity is inconsistent or not culturally associated with the sex they were assigned at birth and also with the gender role that is associated with that sex. They may have, or may intend to establi ...

, but also in the same time period as an extended bout of harassment against

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

Roderic O'Gorman Roderic O'Gorman (born 12 December 1981) is an Irish Green Party politician who has served as Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth since June 2020. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin West constituency s ...

, who is also openly gay.

Personal life

A former full-time musician, he plays guitar and sings. He is a cousin of

Derek Warfield Derek Warfield (born 15 September 1943) is an Irish singer, songwriter, historian, and a former member of the musical group The Wolfe Tones. Personal life Born in the Dublin suburb Inchicore, Warfield was educated at Synge Street CBS. He was a ...

and

Brian Warfield Patrick Brian Warfield (born 2 April 1946, Holles Street, Dublin) is the vocalist, banjo, harp and bodhrán player and lead songwriter with long-standing Irish band The Wolfe Tones. Brian introduces many of the songs at the Wolfe Tones live conc ...

(musicians with

The Wolfe Tones The Wolfe Tones are an Irish rebel music band that incorporate Irish traditional music in their songs. Formed in 1963, they take their name from Theobald Wolfe Tone, one of the leaders of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, with the double meaning of ...

) and performed with them, touring in the United States. He is on the board of the Civic Theatre.

References

External links

Fintan Warfield's page on the Sinn Féin website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warfield, Fintan 1992 births Living people Alumni of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology Gay singers Gay politicians Irish folk singers Irish male guitarists Irish LGBT singers Irish gay musicians LGBT legislators in Ireland LGBT mayors Members of South Dublin County Council Mayors of places in the Republic of Ireland Members of the 25th Seanad Members of the 26th Seanad Sinn Féin senators St Jude's Gaelic footballers 21st-century guitarists 21st-century Irish male singers 21st-century Irish LGBT people Sinn Féin local councillors in the Republic of Ireland Cultural and Educational Panel senators