Duncan Smith (born 17 May 1983) is an Irish Labour Party 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 Dublin Fingal East 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 ...

, and previously for the Dublin Fingal constituency from

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

to 2024.

Political career

Smith was a member of

Fingal County Council Fingal County Council () is the local authority of the county of Fingal, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that succeeded the former Dublin County Council on abolition on 1 January 1994 and is one of four local authorities in County ...

from 2014 to 2020. Smith contested the

2019 Dublin Fingal by-election A by-election was held in the Dáil Éireann Dublin Fingal constituency in Ireland on Friday, 29 November 2019, to fill the vacancy left by the election of Independents 4 Change TD Clare Daly to the European Parliament. It was held on the sa ...

, receiving 3,821 first preference votes (15.2% of the vote), but was not elected. At the 2020 general election, Smith was elected as a TD for Dublin Fingal. After his election to the Dáil, James Humphreys was co-opted to Smith's seat on

. He was one of two TDs to nominate Alan Kelly for the position of Labour Party leader in the 2020 leadership election. In 2021, Smith received media attention for criticising

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

and

Danny Healy-Rae Daniel Healy-Rae (born 16 July 1954) is an Irish independent politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kerry constituency since the 2016 general election. He is part of the Healy-Rae family. He is a son of Jackie Healy-Rae and br ...

in the Dáil, after the two TDs had accused Labour of being "anti-worker" after proposing a zero-COVID strategy, accusing the Healy-Raes of coming from a background of "Fianna Fáil privilege and millions and millions of euros" and "pretending to be working class." He received praise from

Miriam Lord Miriam Lord (born 1962) is an Irish journalist and political sketch writer employed by ''The Irish Times'' newspaper. Her work for the paper includes daily coverage of major political matters through her '' Dáil Sketch'', and ''Miriam Lord's W ...

for this, being dubbed a "working-class hero" in her column. Smith was the Labour Party Director of Elections for

Ivana Bacik Ivana Catherine Bacik () (born 25 May 1968) is an Irish politician who has been the Leader of the Labour Party (Ireland), Leader of the Labour Party (Ireland), Labour Party since 24 March 2022 and a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Bay South ...

in the

2021 Dublin Bay South by-election A by-election was held in the Dáil Éireann constituency of Dublin Bay South in Ireland on Thursday, 8 July 2021, to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of the Fine Gael TD Eoghan Murphy. The by-election was won by Senator Ivana Bacik ...

. At the

, Smith was re-elected to the Dáil in Dublin Fingal East.

Personal life

Smith's father was a carpenter by profession. He went to secondary school at

Mount Temple Comprehensive School Mount Temple Comprehensive School is a secondary school in Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland. The school operates under the patronage of the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, and has, as a primary objective, the provision of state-funded second ...

. Smith studied at

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) () is a Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland, university based on the Northside, Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Highe ...

, completing a bachelors degree in business studies and a master's degree in International Security and Conflict Resolution. He is currently studying for a PhD in nuclear disarmament studies. He is married to Lynsey, and they have one son.

References

External links

Labour Party profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Duncan 1983 births Living people Alumni of Dublin City University Labour Party (Ireland) TDs Members of the 33rd Dáil Members of Fingal County Council People educated at Mount Temple Comprehensive School Labour Party (Ireland) local councillors Members of the 34th Dáil