Aidan J. Larkin (born 31 March 1946-31 March 2019) was a former

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...

politician. Born near

Cookstown, County Tyrone Cookstown (, ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the fourth-largest town in the county and had a population of 12,546 in the 2021 census. It, along with Magherafelt and Dungannon, is one of the main towns in the Mid-Ulster c ...

, Larkin studied at

St Patrick's College, Armagh St Patrick's Grammar School () is a Roman Catholic boys' voluntary grammar school in Armagh, Northern Ireland. The present‑day school was officially opened on Thursday, 27 October 1988, by the late Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich, then Chairman of t ...

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

and

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

. He qualified in law and joined the

Bar of Northern Ireland The Bar of Northern Ireland is the professional association of barristers for Northern Ireland, with over 600 members. It is based in the Bar Library, beside the Royal Courts of Justice, Belfast, Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast, together with ...

, but worked instead as a teacher before becoming a full-time activist in the

Social Democratic and Labour Party The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP; ) is a social democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland Assembly ( MLAs) and two members of Parliament (M ...

(SDLP).Ted Nealon, ''Ireland: a Parliamentary Directory, 1973–1974'', p.208 A founder member of the SDLP, Larkin was its first chairman in

Magherafelt Magherafelt ( ; , ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 9,071 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. It is the biggest town in the south of the county an ...

, at the

1973 Northern Ireland local elections Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

, Larkin was elected to

Magherafelt District Council Magherafelt District Council was a district council in County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. It was merged with Cookstown District Council and Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council on 1 April 2015 under local government reorganisation i ...

, and later in the year he won a seat in Mid Ulster on the

Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...

. However, he narrowly lost his seat at the

Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention (NICC) was an elected body set up in 1975 by the United Kingdom Labour Party (UK), Labour government of Harold Wilson as an attempt to deal with constitutional issues surrounding the status of N ...

election in 1975,Mid-Ulster 1973–1982
, Northern Ireland Elections and left politics a few years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larkin, Aidan 1946 births Living people Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Alumni of University College Dublin Members of Magherafelt District Council Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1973–1974 People educated at St Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh People from Magherafelt Social Democratic and Labour Party politicians