Pat Buckley (born 10 February 1969) 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 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 Cork East constituency since the 2016 general election. He was a member of

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

from 2014 to 2016.

Personal life

He is a native of

Midleton Midleton (; , meaning "monastery at the weir") is a town in south-eastern County Cork, Ireland. It lies approximately 16 km east of Cork City on the Owenacurra River and the N25 road, which connects Cork to the port of Rosslare. A satellit ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

. Buckley is married to Sandra and they have two children. Before entering politics Buckley made a living in construction work. His father had been a stonemason in the Midleton area. Between 2002 and 2003, Buckley lost two brothers, Mark (30) and James (22) to suicide. This prompted him to become an active mental health, wellness and suicide prevention campaigner and he has spoken about his experience many times. Buckley and other concerned people in the Midelton community set up a charity, the Let's Get Together Foundation, to help raise awareness of the problem.

Political career

Buckley was elected to

for the Cork East local electoral area in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, with 12.11% of the first preference vote, with his party running mate Michelle Hennessy narrowly missing out on the last seat with 9.33% of the vote. In 2016, Buckley ran in the general election for the Cork East constituency, retaining the Sinn Féin seat won by Sandra McLellan in 2011 with 5,358 first preference votes. In 2018, he was appointed Spokesperson on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention following

Mary Lou McDonald Mary Louise McDonald (born 1 May 1969) is an Irish politician who has served as Leader of the Opposition in Ireland since June 2020 and President of Sinn Féin since February 2018. She has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Central const ...

's election to the role of Uachtarán Shinn Féin. Since his election to the Dáil, he has been a member of the Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Healthcare helping to develop the Sláintecare report. In 2017, Buckley was appointed to the Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Mental Healthcare which was tasked with developing a strategy for developing a world class public mental healthcare service. At the general election in February 2020, Buckley was re-elected in the Cork East constituency.

Legal issues

Buckley received a three-year drink-driving ban and was fined €500 in December 2014 following an incident on 9 June 2013 when he was stopped while driving by Gardaí. Subsequent tests showed that Buckley was over three times above the permitted blood-alcohol level. Buckley stated after his conviction, "as a SF public representative I regret my actions and my choice to drive after drink." Buckley pleaded guilty before Midleton District Court in May 2018 to being drunk and to engaging in threatening and abusive behaviour to a Garda in the course of his duty. His guilty plea was related to an incident which occurred at Buckley's home in August 2017 following a noise complaint. Responding officers were told to "fuck off" by Buckley who has stated that he was under the influence of alcohol and deeply regrets his behavior.

References

External links

Pat Buckley's page on the Sinn Féin website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckley, Pat 1969 births Alumni of Cork Institute of Technology Living people Local councillors in County Cork Members of the 32nd Dáil Sinn Féin TDs (post-1923) Members of the 33rd Dáil