Michael Brady (born 7 October 1950) is a retired Irish republican politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newry and Armagh from 2015 to 2024. He was previously a

Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

of Northern Ireland for Newry and Armagh from 2007 to 2015.

Early life

Brady was born in the Ballybot area of

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...

. He attended the Abbey Primary School in the town and later the Abbey Christian Brothers' Grammar School. After this, he went to university in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. In 1981, Brady was employed by the Confederation of Community Groups in Newry, running a welfare rights advice centre, dealing with benefits and housing issues until 2007. His mother, Sarah "Sally" Brady (3 March 1909 – 4 May 2016), was the second oldest known living person in Northern Ireland.

Career

Brady says he was always interested in politics and was always an

Irish republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...

so it was an obvious progression for him to be selected to contest the Newry and Armagh Assembly seat in 2007 for

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 ...

. He first took his seat in the

Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...

on 8 March 2007 and retained the seat in 2011. He was selected to contest the 2015 general election by party members in Newry and won the seat. He does not take his seat in the

House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

, in line with Sinn Féin's abstentionist policy. Locally, Brady is also a member of the Confederation of Community Groups and a member of the Board of Governors for schools in his constituency. On 4 May 2015, during his

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

election campaign, Brady was told by the

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ; Ulster-Scots: '), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it ...

(PSNI) of a death threat against him. During the early hours of the following morning, he was advised again of another death threat against him and a bomb threat on his family home in Newry. The PSNI searched the property and found no devices. On 8 June 2017, Brady was re-selected by

in the Newry & Armagh constituency to defend his Westminster seat at the snap

2017 United Kingdom general election The 2017 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 8 June 2017, two years after the 2015 United Kingdom general election, previous general election in 2015; it was the first since 1992 United Kingdom general election, 1992 to be held ...

Mickey Brady with Phil Boswell MP for the SNP for Coatbridge

Brady successfully defended his seat again at the 2019 general election on 12 December 2019. In February 2024, Brady announced that he would step down at the 2024 general election.

References

External links

Profile
agendani.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Brady, Mickey 1950 births Living people People from Newry Sinn Féin MLAs Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011 Northern Ireland MLAs 2011–2016 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Newry and Armagh (since 1983) Sinn Féin MPs (post-1921) UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–2024 Sinn Féin councillors in Northern Ireland Sinn Féin parliamentary candidates