Ray McAdam

McAdam was born in County Cavan and grew up very near Wattlebridge, a hamlet in the south-east of County Fermanagh; Wattlebridge, where his father was from, is a few miles south of the village of Newtownbutler.^[3][4][5] His mother, Anne (née Clarke), is from New Line in Cootehill, where her family were very involved in hurling and camogie, as well as Fine Gael.^[4][5] His maternal great-grandfather, James ('Jemmy') Clarke, was one of the founders of the first Fine Gael cumann in Cootehill in the 1930s.^[5] He received his secondary education at St Michael's College in Enniskillen, after which he studied philosophy and politics at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), in 2002.^[3] He joined Fine Gael at that time. He is married to Niamh McAdam, and they have one son.^[6]

After graduating from TCD, he became a member of the staff of Paschal Donohoe. In 2009, he was first elected to Dublin City Council for the North Inner City area. He was the first Fine Gael politician elected for this area in two decades.^[7] He retained his seat at the 2014, 2019 and 2024 local elections. On 30 June 2025, he was elected as Lord Mayor of Dublin with support from Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Labour Party, Green Party and independent councillors.^[8] In March 2026, he was selected as the Fine Gael candidate to contest the 2026 Dublin Central by-election.^[9][10]