Thomas Wright, usually referred to by the nickname G.V., (born 3 August 1947) is an Irish former

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 Christian- ...

politician. He was 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

Dublin North Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ce ...

constituency. Wright was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in 1947. He was educated at Chanel College,

Coolock Coolock () is a large suburban area, centred on a village, on Dublin city's Northside (Dublin), Northside in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Coolock is crossed by the Santry River, a prominent feature in the middle of the district, with a linear ...

in Dublin before becoming a food retailer. In his youth Wright played

Gaelic football 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 the Dublin county team and was an international basketball player and coach. He first held public office in 1982, when he 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 ...

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 ...

. He remained there until 1983; however, he also entered local politics in 1985 as a member of

Dublin County Council Dublin County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Bhaile Átha Cliath) was a local authority for the administrative county of County Dublin in Ireland. History The county council was established by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. Its headquart ...

. He remained there until 2004 and is among those named by lobbyist Frank Dunlop at the investigating

Mahon Tribunal The Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments commonly known as the Mahon Tribunal after the name of its last chairman, was a public inquiry in Ireland established by Dáil Éireann in 1997 to investigate allegations of cor ...

as receiving donations from property developers. Wright was first elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

at the 1987 general election. He lost his seat at the 1989 general election but was again nominated to the Seanad where he served as Leader of Seanad Éireann (1991–1994) and Leader of Fianna Fáil in Seanad Éireann (1994–1997). During this time Wright failed again to obtain re-election to the Dáil. He finally succeeded at the 1997 general election and held his seat in another election in 2002. In September 2003, as Wright drove home from

Leinster House Leinster House ( ga, Teach Laighean) is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core, ...

, his car collided with a female pedestrian at

North Strand North Strand (Irish: ''An Trá Thuaidh'' ) is a residential inner city neighbourhood on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Location and access The area is physically bounded by the River Tolka to the north and the railway tracks to the east. Nort ...

causing multiple fractures to her leg. Tests confirmed that Wright's

blood alcohol content Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes; it is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume or mass of blood. For exampl ...

was above the legal limit. As a result, he was fined and banned from driving for two years. He retired from politics at the 2007 general election. In March 2012, the final report of the

found that Wright received a £5,000 "corrupt" payment from Christopher Jones in November 1992 in relation to the Ballycullen/Beechill rezoning projects. On 27 March 2012, Wright resigned from Fianna Fáil before he could be expelled.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, G. V. 1947 births Living people Businesspeople from Dublin (city) Councillors of Dublin County Council Dublin inter-county Gaelic footballers Fianna Fáil senators Fianna Fáil TDs Irish sportsperson-politicians Local councillors in Fingal Members of the 16th Seanad Members of the 19th Seanad Members of the 20th Seanad Members of the 25th Dáil Members of the 28th Dáil Members of the 29th Dáil Nominated members of Seanad Éireann People from Coolock Politicians from County Dublin People educated at Chanel College, Dublin