Martin Kenny (born 1 October 1971) 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 Gri ...

politician who has been 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 Sligo–Leitrim constituency since the 2016 general election.

Career

Kenny became a member of

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

in 2001, when he was co-opted to replace Liam McGirl, the son of former

John Joe McGirl John Joe McGirl (25 March 1921 – 8 December 1988) was an Irish republican, a Sinn Féin politician, and a former chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Biography Anti-Treaty IRA Born and raised in Ballinamore, County Leitrim, M ...

Harassment and attacks

In May 2016, Kenny alleged a number of serious instances of misconduct within the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...

. The main allegations included that gardaí were engaging informants who were active criminals, outside the Garda Covert Human Intelligence Sources programme. He also mentioned a number of instances including "robberies allegedly carried out by informants under the direction of gardaí", cases of

entrapment Entrapment is a practice in which a law enforcement agent or agent of the state induces a person to commit a "crime" that the person would have otherwise been unlikely or unwilling to commit.''Sloane'' (1990) 49 A Crim R 270. See also agent provo ...

made at the behest of Garda handlers, and an instance where "senior gardaí did not inform other members of the force of plans by a criminal gang to carry out attacks at the homes of gardaí". He also stated that two Gardaí had brought this to the attention of both

Martin Callinan Martin Callinan (born 25 August 1953), is an Irish former Garda, who served as Garda Commissioner from 2010 to 2014. Callinan is a two-time graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, qualifying in law enforcement management (1 ...

(former

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

of the Garda Síochána) and the former

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

Alan Shatter Alan Joseph Shatter (born 14 February 1951) is an Irish lawyer, author and former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Justice and Equality and Minister for Defence from 2011 to 2014. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Sou ...

, but their concerns were ignored. In October 2019, Kenny said he had received death threats after he spoke out in Dáil Eireann against

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

elements in Irish society using

anti-immigrant Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, has become a significant political ideology in many countries. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory ...

rhetoric. Kenny's remarks were spurred by the aftermath of the 2019 Grays incident, and recent protests against the building of a Direct Provision centre in his own constituency in

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...

as well other protests in Ireland against the construction of Direct Provision centres. On 28 October 2019, Kenny's car was set ablaze outside his family home. In an interview with Ocean FM he described the arson attack as "traumatic" and feared that he was facing the same fate as Kevin Lunney. In October 2021, a threat of gun violence was made to Kenny's office.

References

External links

Martin Kenny's page on the Sinn Féin website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenny, Martin 1971 births Living people Local councillors in County Leitrim Members of the 32nd Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil Sinn Féin TDs (post-1923) Alumni of the Institute of Technology, Sligo