Ian McGarvey (born July 1929) is a former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

and former politician. He was a member of

Donegal County Council Donegal County Council () is the authority responsible for Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local government in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The ...

, representing the

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( , meaning "hillside of the O'Cannons"), nicknamed the Cathedral Town, is a large town in County Donegal, Ireland, on the River Swilly in the north-west of Ulster. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is a regional eco ...

electoral area. Due to his age (his political career peaking while an

octogenarian Ageing (or aging in American English) is the process of becoming older until death. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi; whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biolo ...

) he is often portrayed as an

underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or wikt:top dog, top dog. In the case where an under ...

, "They're always writing me off. I don't worry about that", he once said after being re-elected. He has a special interest in the elderly, and has attracted attention after describing cuts to their care as a form of "

euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...

". He did a noteworthy dance after being re-elected in 2014. McGarvey has lived at Moorfield in

Ramelton Ramelton (; ), also Rathmelton, is a town and townland in County Donegal, Ireland. As of 2022, its population was 1,288. History Ramelton is situated at the mouth of the River Lennon, 11 km north of Letterkenny and 4 km south of Mi ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

, for more than 50 years. In April 2013, in the early hours, his home was attacked with stones and with spray, prompting police intervention. McGarvey spent a year working in Germany in 1960. He played

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

for Swilly Rovers and captained them to the

FAI Junior Cup The FAI Junior Cup is a cup competition organized by the Football Association of Ireland for junior association football clubs from the Republic of Ireland. The inaugural winners were Brideville. The competition's most successful club is Fairvie ...

in 1962. He has been a

teetotaller Teetotalism is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler (US) or teetotaller (UK), or said to be ...

(abstaining from alcohol) throughout his life. He is related to

Martin Docherty-Hughes Martin John Docherty-Hughes (born 21 January 1971) is a Scottish National Party politician. He was previously the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Dunbartonshire from 2015 until his defeat in 2024. He has also served as SNP Defence Spokespers ...

. Aged 82, McGarvey became Ireland's oldest

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

and Donegal County Council's first independent Mayor in June 2013, succeeding Frank McBrearty Jnr. Aged 85, he became Ireland's oldest ever general election candidate at the 2016 election. Having earlier been Mayor of County Donegal, McGarvey became Mayor of Letterkenny in June 2018 - he succeeded either Gerry McMonagle of

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 ...

''or'' Jimmy Kavanagh of

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...

in that role. McGarvey was at this time approaching his 88th birthday and broke his own mayoral record set five years earlier. As Mayor of Letterkenny, McGarvey - at this stage aged 89 - returned to Germany for the first time since 1960, visiting the

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

n twin town of

Rudolstadt Rudolstadt is a town in the German federal state Thuringia, within the Thuringian Forest, to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north. The former capital of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the town is built along the River Saale inside a wide ...

and having a

vine A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...

there dedicated to him and his wife Marjorie and a plaque erected at a

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

. He retired from politics in February 2023. His nephew Pauric McGarvey was co-opted to Donegal County Council to replace him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcgarvey, Ian 1930s births Living people Association footballers from County Donegal Independent local councillors in the Republic of Ireland Irish sportsperson-politicians Members of Donegal County Council Mayors of Letterkenny Mayors of places in the Republic of Ireland People from Ramelton Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Swilly Rovers F.C. players Men's association football players not categorized by position 20th-century Irish sportsmen Year of birth missing (living people)