Kieran McCarthy

Kieran McCarthy (born 9 September 1942) is a retired Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI) politician. From 1998 to 2016 he was a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Strangford. He served as Assembly chief whip for APNI in the Assembly.^[1]

Kieran McCarthy
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Strangford
In office 25 June 1998 – 30 March 2016
Preceded by	New Creation
Succeeded by	Kellie Armstrong
Member of Ards Borough Council
In office 15 May 1985 – 22 May 2014
Preceded by	District created
Succeeded by	Council abolished
Constituency	Ards Peninsula
Northern Ireland Forum Member for Strangford
In office 30 May 1996 – 25 April 1998
Preceded by	Forum created
Succeeded by	Forum dissolved
Personal details
Born	(1942-09-09) 9 September 1942 (age 82) Newtownards, Northern Ireland
Political party	Alliance
Spouse	Kathleen McCarthy

Background

McCarthy was born in Newtownards and worked as a draper. In 1985 he was first elected to Ards Borough Council. In 1990 he became a Justice of the Peace. He was then elected to the Northern Ireland Peace Forum in 1996 from Strangford and has subsequently won a Northern Ireland Assembly seat there in all three elections to that body. In the 2007 elections his seat was targeted by the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP),^[2] but he won easily with a significantly increased vote.

He has stated his appreciation for the Good Friday Agreement on a number of occasions but believes a more party-aligned/devolved agreement would work more effectively.

McCarthy has stated his strong dislike for Direct Rule, causing a major democratic deficit, and in particular, was against the supposedly aggressive style of governing from the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Peter Hain.