Patrick John McNicholas (15 April 1919 – 1990) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

-born politician and political figure in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. He represented

St. John's Centre St. John’s Centre is a provincial electoral district for the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Much of the former district of St. John's Centre was renamed St. John's East in 1996. As of 2011 there were 7,846 eligible vot ...

in the

Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly is the unicameral deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It meets in the Confederation Building in St. J ...

from 1979 to 1989 as a member of the

Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland The Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador is a provincial political party in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The party was founded in 1949 and most recently formed the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador from the 20 ...

. Patrick McNicholas was born in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city ...

, in the

West of Ireland Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbh ...

on 15 April 1919. He studied medicine in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

Dublin, Ireland Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. He qualified as a physician in Dublin in 1941 at the age of 21. He worked as a medical doctor with the Irish Red Cross Society in France following the D-Day landings and the Allied invasion of France in 1944. He immigrated to Canada in 1955 with his wife, Isabelle (née. Van Vliet) and his (then) three children, John, Susan and Judith. He established an Ophthalmology practice in St. John's with his partner, Dr. Peter Lockwood. Patrick and Isabelle had three more children who were born in Newfoundland, Yvonne, Peter and Michael Aidan (b. 21 Nov 1965). McNicholas served on a number of civic and charitable boards in Newfoundland including President of the

Red Cross Society The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the world's largest group of non-governmental organizations working on humanitarian aid, is composed of the following bodies: *The ''International Committee of the Red Cross'' (ICRC), a com ...

in Newfoundland, President of the Crow's Nest Officers' Club and Rotary International (St. John's Chapter). McNicholas first entered politics in 1977 when he unsuccessfully ran for mayor of St. John's. He entered Newfoundland provincial politics in 1979 running in the district of

for the PC Party in the 1979 general election which resulted in the PC Party coming to power in Newfoundland under Premier

Brian Peckford Alfred Brian Peckford (born August 27, 1942) is a Canadian politician who served as the third premier of Newfoundland from March 26, 1979 to March 22, 1989. A member of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party, Peckford was first elected as the ...

. He was first elected as a Member of the House of Assembly (MHA) on 18 June 1979 and was re-elected twice subsequently for the same seat. McNicholas was elected as

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

for the Newfoundland House of Assembly on April 25, 1985 (replacing James Russell who was named Minister of Consumer Affairs and Communications) and served as speaker until 1989. McNicholas was defeated in 1989 general election which resulted in the Liberal Party under the leadership of Premier Clyde Wells forming a new government. He died in St. John's in 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McNicholas, Patrick Speakers of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly 1919 births 1990 deaths