Peter Fitzpatrick (born 11 May 1962) is an Irish former

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

and

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 ...

politician who served as 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

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia ** Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

constituency from 2011 to 2024. He was a former soldier in the 27 Infantry Battalion and also a former manager of the

Louth county football team The Louth county football team represents Louth in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Louth GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland ...

Sporting career

A member of the

Clan na Gael Clan na Gael (CnG) (, ; "family of the Gaels") is an Irish republican organization, founded in the United States in the late 19th and 20th centuries, successor to the Fenian Brotherhood and a sister organization to the Irish Republican Bro ...

GAA club in Dundalk, Fitzpatrick won a Leinster Under-21 championship medal with

in 1981. He had a successful club career with Clan na Gael, winning five Louth SFC titles, nine Senior Football Leagues and six ACC Cup medals. He was also a member of the

Dundalk F.C. Dundalk Football Club ( ) is a professional football club that competes in the League of Ireland First Division. It was founded in 1903 as Dundalk G.N.R., the works-team of the Great Northern Railway. It is based in Dundalk, County Louth and ...

reserve side that won the 1982–1983

League of Ireland B Division The League of Ireland B Division is a former league within the Republic of Ireland football league system. Its debut season was 1964–65. It was originally a second level league. However following the emergence of the League of Ireland First Di ...

. Fitzpatrick was appointed the manager of

in November 2009, succeeding

Eamonn McEneaney Eamon McEneaney is an Irish former Gaelic football manager and player for the Castleblayney Faughs club and at senior level for the Monaghan county team. McEneaney won the National Football League in 1985 while playing for Monaghan. He capta ...

, the former

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

footballer and manager. In his first season in charge of Louth, the team reached their first Leinster final in 50 years. The 2010 Leinster Senior Football Championship Final saw them compete against

Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

. Louth almost won but for a controversial goal by

Joe Sheridan Joseph Michael Sheridan (27 November 1914 – 30 September 2000) was an Irish politician, originally with Fine Gael but for most of his career an independent. Sheridan came from Colmcille in County Longford, and had three brothers and two sist ...

late in the game. Louth subsequently entered the

2010 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The 2010 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 124th edition of the GAA's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament, played between 31 of the 32 counties of Ireland plus London and New York. The draw for the championship took p ...

through the "back door". However, the team lost heavily to

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 their next game, thus ending the county's 2010 championship season. In the 2011 season, Louth qualified for the Division 3 League Final where they faced

Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

. Louth won on a scoreline of 1–15 to 0–13. Fitzpatrick quit in 2012 after three years. He went on to become the chairperson of the Louth County Board, and was in this role when

Mickey Harte Mickey Harte (born 1954) is an Irish Gaelic football manager and former player. He has been joint-manager of Offaly since 2024. Harte managed the Tyrone county team from 2003 until his resignation in 2020, at which time he was the longest ...

was appointed Louth manager in 2020, also with the successful application for planning for a new stadium for Louth GAA.

Political career

Fitzpatrick allowed his name to go forward for a nomination for

ahead of the 2011 general election. He was elected as a Fine Gael TD for

. In Dáil Éireann, he sat on the Committee for Transport, Tourism and Sport, and previously on the Health committee. He opposed the legalisation of abortion in Ireland, calling for a "No" vote in the 2018 abortion referendum. In August 2018, he announced that he would not contest the next general election for Fine Gael. In October 2018, he announced he would seek re-election as an independent and resigned from Fine Gael. Fitzpatrick was elected as an independent candidate for Louth at the 2020 general election. At the time he was the first independent to be elected for the constituency since

James Coburn James Harrison Coburn III (August 31, 1928 – November 18, 2002) was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.AllmoviBi ...

(later of Fine Gael) at the 1932 general election, although Coburn was elected for the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

. On 30 August 2024, Fitzpatrick announced that he would not contest the next general election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzpatrick, Peter 1962 births Living people Chairmen of county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association Fine Gael TDs Gaelic football managers Independent TDs Military personnel from County Louth Irish sportsperson-politicians Louth County Board administrators Louth inter-county Gaelic footballers Clan na Gael (Louth) Gaelic footballers Dundalk F.C. players Members of the 31st Dáil Members of the 32nd Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil Politicians from County Louth