Conor D. McGuinness (born ) is an Irish

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

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, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) for the

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

constituency since the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

. McGuinness is the Sinn Féin spokesperson on Rural Affairs, Community Development and An Ghaeltacht. He was appointed as chairperson of the Oireachtas Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs in April 2025.

Background

McGuinness is an Irish speaker who lives in ''

Gaeltacht na nDéise A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...

'', the West Waterford Gaeltacht. He is a trade unionist with

Unite the Union Unite the Union, commonly known as Unite, is a trade union in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, formed on 1 May 2007 by the merger of Amicus (trade union), Amicus and the Transport and General Workers' Union. A general union ...

Dungarvan Dungarvan () is a coastal town and harbour in County Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Prior to the merger of Waterford County Council with Waterford City Council in 2014, Dungarvan was the county town and administrative centre of ...

, having served on its youth committee until 2017. He was also a founding member of ''Laochas'', a youth mental health organisation in Waterford, and was also involved with Dungarvan's credit union. He has an MA degree from the

University of Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

. According to his website, McGuinness is a Peace Commissioner for Waterford and adjoining counties. He was a board member and vice-chairperson of ''

Foras na Gaeilge (, " Irish Institute"; ) is a public body responsible for the promotion of the Irish language throughout the island of Ireland, including both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It was set up on 2 December 1999, assuming the rol ...

'' and previously worked as the language planning officer for ''Gaeltacht na nDéise''.

Political career

McGuinness joined Sinn Féin in 2001. He was elected to

Waterford City and County Council Waterford City and County Council () is the local authority of the City of Waterford and County Waterford in Ireland. It came into operation on 1 June 2014 after the 2014 local elections. It is a merger of Waterford City Council and Waterfor ...

representing

/ Lismore in the

2019 Irish local elections The 2019 Irish local elections were held in all local authorities in Ireland on Friday, 24 May 2019, on the same day as the 2019 European Parliament election and a referendum easing restrictions on divorce. Each local government area is divid ...

. He was re-elected in the

2024 Irish local elections The 2024 Irish local elections were held in all local authorities in Ireland on Friday, 7 June 2024. European Parliament elections were held on the same day. It also included the 2024 Limerick mayoral election, for the first directly elected ...

having almost doubled his previous vote. McGuinness served as part of Ireland's delegation on the

European Committee of the Regions The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is the European Union's (EU) assembly of local and regional representatives that provides sub-national authorities (i.e. regions, counties, provinces, municipalities and cities) with a direct voice w ...

from 2020, and as a member of the

Southern Regional Assembly Southern Region of Ireland is a subdivision of Ireland as defined by the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS). It is one of the three classified NUTS-2 statistical regions of Ireland. The region incorporates the southern par ...

. As of 2023, he was a member of Sinn Féin's Ard Chomhairle, the party's central decision-making body. McGuinness was elected to the Dáil for the Waterford constituency at the

Political views

'' The Phoenix'', described McGuinness in 2023 as an "old-school republican".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGuinness, Conor Living people 1980s births Members of the 34th Dáil Sinn Féin TDs (post-1923) Members of Waterford City and County Council Irish trade unionists Sinn Féin local councillors in the Republic of Ireland Alumni of the University of Galway