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Elisha McCallion

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Elisha McCallion
McCallion in 2015
Senator
In office
29 June 2020 – 29 October 2020
ConstituencyIndustrial and Commercial Panel
Mayor of Derry
In office
11 March 2015 – 1 May 2016
Preceded byBrenda Stevenson
Succeeded byHilary McClintock
Member of Parliament
for Foyle
In office
8 June 2017 – 6 November 2019
Preceded byMark Durkan
Succeeded byColum Eastwood
Member of the Legislative Assembly
for Foyle
In office
2 March 2017 – 8 June 2017
Preceded byMartin McGuinness
Succeeded byKaren Mullan
Personal details
Born
Elisha McLaughlin

(1982-10-21) 21 October 1982 (age 42)
Derry, Northern Ireland
NationalityIrish
Political partySinn Féin
Spouse
Declan McCallion
​
(m. 2009)​
RelationsMartina Anderson (aunt)
Children3
EducationThornhill College
Alma materUlster University

Elisha McCallion (née McLaughlin; born 21 October 1982) is an Irish former Sinn Féin politician who served as a Senator for the Industrial and Commercial Panel from April 2020 until October 2020. She previously served as Mayor of Derry from 2015 to 2016, a Member of Parliament (MP) for Foyle from 2017 to 2019, and as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Foyle from March to June 2017.[1]

Early life

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McLaughlin was born on 21 October 1982 in Galliagh, Derry, Northern Ireland, and grew up there in a republican family; her aunt is Martina Anderson.[2][3][4] Her father is a painter and decorator, and her mother is a former bar manager. She has a brother and a sister.[5] McLaughlin attended Galliagh Nursery School, Lenamore Primary School (now St. Therese's Primary School), and Thornhill College in Derry.[6]

She joined Sinn Féin's youth wing Ógra Shinn Féin at the age of 15 and stated that the Drumcree conflict prompted her interest in politics. She went on to study Irish History and Politics at the further education institution North West Regional College, and complete a bachelor's degree in Community Development at Ulster University. Her first job as at the Galliagh Independent Advice Service from which she went on to work for the Galliagh Development Trust and the Galliagh Women's Group.[6]

Political career

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McLaughlin was elected as a Sinn Féin councillor for Shantallow on Derry City Council in 2005 aged just 23. She was re-elected in 2011 and in 2015 she became the first Mayor of Derry & Strabane.[7][8]

McCallion supported the United Kingdom remaining within the European Union (EU) in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.[9] In March 2017, she was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Foyle winning the seat previously held by former deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness.[10][11] She resigned as an MLA in June to stand as an MP in the 2017 general election.[12]

She became the MP for Foyle following the 2017 general election with a majority of 169 votes.[13] The seat had been represented by former leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) Mark Durkan since 2005, and had been represented by the founder of the SDLP John Hume prior to this from its formation in 1983. McCallion was the first female MP to represent the constituency.[14][15] She did not sit in the House of Commons per Sinn Féin's longstanding policy of abstentionism.[16] She was defeated by Colum Eastwood, of the SDLP, in the 2019 general election by a majority of 17,110 (36.3%).[17]

In April 2020, McCallion was elected to the 26th Seanad in the Republic of Ireland, topping the poll on the Industrial and Commercial Panel with 95,000 votes on the first count.[18][19] In October 2020, it was revealed that three Sinn Féin bank accounts which had erroneously received UK government COVID-19 small business grants had failed to return them promptly. One of the three was for McCallion's former Westminster office, and on 28 October she resigned from the Seanad after accepting she should have acted sooner as she was responsible for the account.[20]

Personal life

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McLaughlin married Declan McCallion, a welder, in 2009. She chose to take his surname in 2011. They have three sons together.[5][6][21]

References

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  1. ^ "Elisha McCallion". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  2. ^ McCausland, Nelson (30 November 2017). "Praise for the IRA at its ard fheis shows why Sinn Féin is far from being a normal party". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 5 November 2019.(subscription required)
  3. ^ "Elisha finds the perfect balance". Derry Journal. 25 January 2012. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  4. ^ Claire Simpson (31 January 2020). "Elisha McCallion front-runner to replace Raymond McCartney in Foyle". Irish News. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  5. ^ a b McKittrick, Kerry (30 October 2015). "My People with Mayor of Derry City, Elisha McCallion". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  6. ^ a b c "Ain't seen nothing like a Galliagh girl". Derry Journal. 24 May 2015. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  7. ^ "Derry City Council Elections 1993-2011". Northern Ireland Social and Political Archive. Archived from the original on 9 January 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  8. ^ Morris, Allison (10 January 2017). "Ex-Derry mayor Elisha McCallion may replace Martin McGuinness as Foyle MLA". The Irish News. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  9. ^ McCallion, Elisha (5 December 2017). "As a Sinn Fein MP, I won't have Ireland become collateral damage in the Tory-DUP Brexit shambles". The Independent. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  10. ^ McKinney, Seamus (17 April 2017). "Headstone records Martin McGuinness's IRA and political past". The Irish News. Archived from the original on 6 May 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  11. ^ McClements, Freya (9 May 2017). "Sinn Féin seeks to pull off a historic upset in Foyle". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  12. ^ "Ms Elisha McCallion". gov.uk. Archived from the original on 9 November 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Foyle". parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  14. ^ McClements, Freya (9 June 2017). "Foyle: SDLP shell-shocked as Elisha McCallion wins for Sinn Féin". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  15. ^ "General Election 2017: Sinn Féin's Elisha McCallion in historic win in Foyle". BBC News. 9 June 2017. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  16. ^ "Colum Eastwood considers standing for Foyle seat". BBC News. 19 September 2019. Archived from the original on 3 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  17. ^ McClements, Freya (13 December 2019). "Foyle: SDLP's Colum Eastwood in landslide victory". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  18. ^ "Elisha McCallion, former Foyle MP elected to Seanad". BBC News. 3 April 2020.
  19. ^ Mullan, Kevin (2 April 2020). "Poll-topper Elisha McCallion in fight for Seanad seat". Derry Journal.
  20. ^ Kearney, Vincent (29 October 2020). "Three Sinn Féin members resign over Covid grants". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  21. ^ "It's all in a name for Sinn Fein's Elisha". Derry Journal. 30 September 2011. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
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Northern Ireland Assembly
Preceded by Member of the Legislative Assembly
for Foyle
2017–2017 		Succeeded by
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Foyle
2017–2019 		Succeeded by
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