Matthew Carthy (born 19 July 1977) 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 Cavan–Monaghan constituency since the 2020 general election. He previously served as a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP) for the Midlands–North-West constituency from 2014 to 2020.

Early and personal life

Carthy was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, in 1977. His mother is from

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...

and his father from

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

. The family moved to County Roscommon when Carthy was aged two, where he lived until he was 10. His family then spent a year living in Holywell in north-east

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

before returning to Ireland to live in

Carrickmacross Carrickmacross () is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The population was 5,745 at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, making it the second-largest town in the county. Carrickmacross is a market town which developed around a castle buil ...

, County Monaghan. He has described the experience of living on the Irish border during the conflict as playing a formative role in shaping his republican political views, and cites hunger strikers Bobby Sands and Kieran Doherty as major influences. Carthy studied marketing for a year at the

Dublin Institute of Technology Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT, ) was a major third-level institution in Dublin, Ireland. On 1 January 2019 DIT was dissolved and its functions were transferred to the Technological University Dublin, as TU Dublin City Campus. The insti ...

, where he formed a Sinn Féin college cumann (branch) in 1996. Carthy was a founding member of Ógra Shinn Féin (a Sinn Féin youth organisation) the following year. He worked as a full-time youth organiser for Ógra in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in Sinn Féin's party headquarters, and as a press officer for Sinn Féin. Carthy lives in

, County Monaghan, with wife Lynn and their five children.

Political career

He was elected as the first Sinn Féin member of Carrickmacross Town Council in County Monaghan in 1999, becoming the youngest elected representative in the country (21 years old) at the time. In June 2006, Carthy was elected as the first Sinn Féin Mayor of Carrickmacross Town Council. He was a member of

Monaghan County Council Monaghan County Council () is the local authority of County Monaghan, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning ...

from 2004 to 2014, and was elected mayor of Monaghan County Council in 2008. At the

2014 European Parliament election The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 22 and 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties field ...

, Carthy won 17.7% of first-preference votes. He took the third of four seats in the Midlands–North-West constituency. Former

Provisional IRA The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

member Thomas McMahon, who was convicted of the murder of Lord Louis Mountbatten and three others off the coast of Mullaghmore, County Sligo, in 1979, canvassed for Carthy in the elections. In the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

Carthy is a member of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee (AGRI) and the Special Committee on Financial Crimes, Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance (TAX3). He is a substitute member of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) and Transport and Tourism Committee (TRAN). He was a full member of the Panama Papers Committee of Inquiry for its duration from 2016 to 2017. In 2015, he was appointed as Sinn Féin's Uniting Ireland project coordinator. He has been party whip in the European Parliament since 2014 and has been a member of the Ard Chomhairle (national executive) at regular intervals since 1998. He was the Sinn Féin Director of Elections for the 2016 general election. On 26 April 2018, Carthy was selected to run as the Sinn Féin candidate for the Cavan–Monaghan constituency at the 2020 general election, following the announcement by sitting Sinn Féin TD

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (; born 18 September 1953) is an Irish former Sinn Féin politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cavan–Monaghan (Dáil constituency), Cavan–Monaghan constituency from 1997 to 2020. Ó Caoláin's victory ...

that he would not be contesting the next election. Carthy was elected on the first count. Sligo County Councillor Chris MacManus was nominated to fill Carthy's seat in the

following his election to the Dáil. At the 2024 general election, Carthy was re-elected to the Dáil.

References

External links

Matt Carthy profile on the Sinn Féin website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carthy, Matt 1977 births Living people Members of Monaghan County Council Mayors of places in the Republic of Ireland MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 2014–2019 MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 2019–2024 Politicians from County Roscommon Sinn Féin MEPs Members of the 33rd Dáil Sinn Féin TDs (post-1923) Alumni of Dublin Institute of Technology People from Carrickmacross Sinn Féin local councillors in the Republic of Ireland Members of the 34th Dáil