Cathal Crowe (born 1 October 1982) is an Irish

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 who has been a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms s ...

(TD) for the

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * C ...

constituency since the

2020 general election The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2020. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems maintains a comprehensive list of upcoming elections on its E-Guide Platform. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calend ...

Political career

Crowe was first elected to

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

in 2004 at 21 years of age, making him the youngest councillor in Ireland. Reflecting on this in a 2019 interview, Crowe said "I was very green when first elected. I didn’t own a suit at the time, I was finishing exams at UL and drove around on a scooter. With my first pay cheque from the Council I bought a PlayStation 2. For all the experience I lacked, I had huge hunger and desire to make things better for my community and the Council". In 2019, as the Mayor of

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

, he gained attention as the first politician to decide to boycott the government's commemoration of the

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...

. He was a member of Clare County Council for the Shannon local electoral area from 2004 to 2020. Crowe went on to successfully contest three more elections to Clare County Council in 2009, 2014 and 2019, twice topping the poll by receiving the most first preference votes. In March 2023, political news website The Ditch reported that Crowe had not disclosed his ownership of two homes on a planning application to Clare County Council for permission to build a house. In addition, the same article reported Crowe had falsely claimed to have lived in his parents' house until 2012, when he had in fact bought and moved into a property in 2007. When questioned by RTÉ, Crowe rejected the allegation from The Ditch that he owned two homes and defended his use of the Irish form of his name on the planning application form. Further investigations by The Ditch revealed that Crowe had not declared EU payments in respect of farmland that he owns in County Clare, thereby breaching the rules for declaring sources of income on Dáil ethics returns.

Personal life

Crowe is the son of Michael, a retired fire fighter and Irene, a retired nurse. In 2013, he married Maeve Fehilly from

Charleville, County Cork Charleville ( ga, Ráth Luirc or ''An Ráth'') is a town in north County Cork, Ireland. It lies in the Golden Vale, on a tributary of the River Maigue, near the border with County Limerick. Charleville is on the N20 road and is the second-large ...

. The couple have three children together. Prior to being elected as a TD, Crowe was a primary school teacher in Parteen National School.

References

External links

Cathal Crowe's page on the Fianna Fáil website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowe, Cathal Living people 1982 births Members of the 33rd Dáil Fianna Fáil TDs Local councillors in County Clare Mayors of places in the Republic of Ireland