John Gerard Hanafin (born 27 September 1960) is an Irish former
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland.
Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...
politician, who was a member of
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann ( ; ; "Senate of Ireland") is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives).
It is commonly called the Seanad or ...
from 2002 to 2011.
He was elected by the
Labour Panel
The Labour Panel is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Labour Panel elects eleven senators.
Election
Article 18 of the Const ...
. Hanafin is the brother of the former cabinet minister
Mary Hanafin and the son of the former Senator,
Des Hanafin. He was first elected to the Seanad in 2002 and re-elected in 2007. He was a member of
North Tipperary County Council representing the
Thurles
Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles. The cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Arch ...
area from 1988 to 2003.
He called for a yes vote in unsuccessful
2002 abortion referendum, which would have rolled back the
X Case
''Attorney General v X'' 9921 IR 1 (more commonly known as the "X Case") was a judgment of the Irish Supreme Court which established the right of Irish women to an abortion if a pregnant woman's life was at risk because of pregnancy, including th ...
.
On 7 July 2010, he resigned the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party
whip
A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...
, along with
Labhrás Ó Murchú and
Jim Walsh, in protest at the
which gave some legal recognition to
same-sex couples
A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries ...
. He rejoined the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party on 23 November 2010.
He favours the
gold standard
A gold standard is a backed currency, monetary system in which the standard economics, economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the ...
.
Hanafin lost his seat at the 2011 Seanad election.
[ He was nominated to the ]Industrial and Commercial Panel
Industrial may refer to:
Industry
* Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry
* Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems
* Industrial city, a city dominat ...
for the 2016 Seanad elections but was unsuccessful in regaining a Seanad seat.
In September 2015, Hanafin was appointed as Honorary Consul to the Russian Federation in Thurles, County Tipperary. He resigned as Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation over the invasion of Ukraine. He stated no conflict is worth a human life and called for an immediate cessation of the conflict and peace talks.
At the Fianna Fáil Árd Fheis in 2017, Hanafin advocated again for retention of the 8th Amendment, linking abortion to a lack of supply of babies for adoption.
In November 2017, Hanafin entered talks with serving politicians about establishing a rural, anti-abortion political party.
He was an unsuccessful Fianna Fáil candidate at the 2020 Seanad election.
He was called to the Bar of Ireland in 2019.
See also
* Families in the Oireachtas
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanafin, John
1960 births
Living people
Alumni of University College Dublin
Fianna Fáil senators
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
Members of North Tipperary County Council
Members of the 22nd Seanad
Members of the 23rd Seanad
People from Thurles
Labour Panel senators