Frank Maguire (politician)
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Frank Maguire | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Fermanagh and South Tyrone | |
| In office 10 October 1974 – 5 March 1981 | |
| Preceded by | Harry West |
| Succeeded by | Bobby Sands |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 September 1929 Gort, County Galway, Ireland |
| Died | 5 March 1981 (aged 51) Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland |
| Party | Independent |
Meredith Francis Maguire (2 September 1929 – 5 March 1981)[1] was an Irish Republican who became an Independent Member of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.[2][3] Born into an Irish republican family, he was interned during his youth for Irish Republican Army activities; while he later opposed violence, he remained close to the republican movement. He was running Frank's Bar, a public house in Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh, when he was elected as a unity candidate to represent Fermanagh and South Tyrone at the October 1974 general election. While not an abstentionist, Maguire's attendances at Westminster were infrequent and he never made a full speech, but he did cast some crucial votes to support the Labour government of the 1970s. He attended the no confidence vote against the Callaghan government, which brought it down by a single vote, to "abstain in person".
Born in Gort, County Galway, and educated in Athlone, Maguire worked in his youth in a pub owned by his uncle, future Nationalist Party politician John Carron. He was attracted to the cause of Irish republicanism and was interned without trial in Crumlin Road Jail in Belfast for two years, within which he was the commanding officer of the Irish Republican Army. After his release, he opposed violence and became a pub landlord. He did remain associated with Sinn Féin.[4]
