Paddy Agnew (1878 –

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1958) was a

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. Agnew was brought up a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and held

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

views. However his politics were also leaning towards labourism, and he had clashes with more conservative Catholic politicians. He formed the Armagh Employed and Unemployed Association in 1932, and the following year set up a local branch of the

Northern Ireland Labour Party The Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP) was a political party in Northern Ireland which operated from 1924 until 1987. Origins The roots of the NILP can be traced back to the formation of the Belfast Labour Party in 1892. Previously, in 1885 ...

. Generally unemployed due to poor health, Agnew organised

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

workers and in 1937 founded the Armagh Federation of Labour.Mary T. McVeigh,
A Working Class Hero
", ''The Other View'' Agnew was elected unopposed for South Armagh at the

1938 Northern Ireland general election The 1938 Northern Ireland general election was held on 9 February 1938. Like all previous elections to the Parliament of Northern Ireland, it produced a large majority for the Ulster Unionist Party, who won three-quarters of the seats. The ne ...

, as the incumbent Republican and the local Nationalist Party both boycotted the election. He won a seat on Armagh County Council in 1939 from Nationalist

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Thomas McLaughlin. Agnew lost his Parliamentary seat at the 1945 general election. However, he held his County Council seat, and also won a seat on the newly re-established Armagh City Council, which he held until 1958.

References

1878 births Year of death missing Members of Armagh County Council Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1938–1945 Northern Ireland Labour Party members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for County Armagh constituencies {{Parliament-of-Northern-Ireland-member-stub