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Charlie McConalogue

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Charlie McConalogue
TD
McConalogue in 2022
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Incumbent
Assumed office
2 September 2020
Taoiseach
Preceded byMicheál Martin (acting)
Minister of State
2020Justice
Teachta Dála
Incumbent
Assumed office
February 2016
ConstituencyDonegal
In office
February 2011 – February 2016
ConstituencyDonegal North-East
Personal details
Born
Charles McConalogue

(1977-10-29) 29 October 1977 (age 47)[1]
Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland
Political partyFianna Fáil
Alma materUniversity College Dublin

Charles McConalogue (born 29 October 1977) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has served as Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine since September 2020. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Donegal constituency since the 2016 general election, and previously from 2011 to 2016 for the Donegal North-East constituency. He previously served as Minister of State for Law Reform from July 2020 to September 2020.[2]

Early life

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McConalogue has a degree in economics, politics and history from University College Dublin (UCD), which he completed after a year as Education Officer in the UCD Students' Union. After graduation, he worked as a political organiser at the Fianna Fáil HQ in Dublin. Upon the death of his father, he returned home to manage the family farm near Carndonagh in the north of Inishowen, County Donegal.[3]

He was raised near Gleneely,[4] a village in the north of Inishowen, and was in Australia before returning to the farm. He is married with two sons.[5]

Political career

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McConalogue met with US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in Washington, D.C. in April 2022.

McConalogue was elected to Donegal County Council at the 2009 local elections to represent the Inishowen local electoral area.[6]

After Jim McDaid's retirement and Niall Blaney's decision to step down from politics for personal reasons, Fianna Fáil had no sitting TD in Donegal North-East to contest the 2011 general election. The party chose McConalogue as Fianna Fáil's sole candidate for the constituency.

In the election, he won 17.4% of the first-preference vote and was elected on the 9th count to fill the third and final seat, behind Sinn Féin's Pádraig Mac Lochlainn and Fine Gael's Joe McHugh.[7] He was the Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Children from April 2011 to July 2012. In July 2012, he was appointed as party spokesperson on Education and Skills.

In the 2016 general election, after a redrawing of constituency boundaries, McConalogue ran alongside Pat "the Cope" Gallagher as one of two Fianna Fáil candidates in the new five-seater Donegal constituency. McConalogue topped the poll and was elected on the first count.[8]

He represented Fianna Fáil in talks on government formation in 2016.[9]

On 1 July 2020, McConalogue was appointed as a Minister of State at the Department of Justice with responsibility for law reform.[10] On 2 September that year, he was appointed as Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, with the vacancy having arisen following the Oireachtas Golf Society scandal.[11]

It emerged in December 2020 that McConalogue had tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from Brussels on 17 December, prompting all ministers in the Government to restrict their movements. The initial result was negative. He went shopping in Dublin hours ahead of a scheduled five-day follow-up COVID-19 test which led to the positive result he received on 23 December. He displayed no symptoms and isolated in his native Donegal.[12][13]

McConalogue had been due to travel to Canada for St Patrick's Day in March 2022. However, he later confirmed that a positive COVID-19 test had prevented him from doing so. His period of isolation elapsed in time for him to sit on the "VIP lorry" at the parade in Buncrana.[14]

On 17 December 2022, he was re-appointed to the same position following Leo Varadkar's appointment as Taoiseach.[15]

References

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  1. ^ Tim Ryan (2020). Nealon's Guide to the 33rd Dáil and 26th Seanad and the 2019 Local and European Elections. Grand Canal Publishing. OCLC 1301145250.
  2. ^ "Charlie McConalogue". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  3. ^ Fionnan Sheahan (9 February 2011). "Donegal North-East: Wipeout feared as FF reduced to one candidate". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 17 February 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  4. ^ "McConalogue appointed as new Agriculture Minister". donegalnews.com. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  5. ^ McConnell, Daniel (2 September 2020). "Charlie McConalogue — The quiet man who has a chance to shine". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 4 September 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Candidates 2011: Charlie McConalogue". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 13 February 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  7. ^ "Charlie McConalogue". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 12 March 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  8. ^ "Donegal count: Independent Thomas Pringle takes final seat". The Irish Times. 28 February 2016. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  9. ^ McGee, Harry (12 March 2016). "Fianna Fáil's negotiating team for government talks revealed". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  10. ^ "These are the 17 new junior ministers completing the government". Irish Examiner. 1 July 2020. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  11. ^ Keaveny, Michael (2 September 2020). "Charlie McConalogue named as new Minister for Agriculture". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 3 September 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  12. ^ O'Connell, Hugh; Molony, Senan; McQuinn, Cormac (24 December 2020). "Minister who tested positive for Covid after shopping trip 'followed all rules'". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  13. ^ McNulty, Fran (23 December 2020). "Agriculture Minister tests positive for Covid-19". RTÉ News and Current Affairs. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  14. ^ "'Ill wind' keeps McConalogue at home on St Patrick's Day". Donegal Daily. 19 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  15. ^ Lehane, Micheál (17 December 2022). "Reshuffle: Who is in the new Cabinet?". RTÉ News. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
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Political offices
New office Minister of State at the Department of Justice
2020 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine
2020–present 		Incumbent
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