Francie Molloy

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Francis Joseph Molloy[1] (Template:Langx; born 16 December 1950)[2] is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who was the abstentionist Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Ulster from 2013 to 2024. He was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Mid Ulster from 1998 to 2013.[3]

Background

He first stood for Sinn Féin in Fermanagh and South Tyrone in the 1982 Assembly Elections, finishing sixth in the five-seat constituency.[4] He was then elected to Dungannon council in 1985[5] representing the Torrent electoral area, centred on Coalisland. He retired from the council in 1989 but was re-elected in 1993.

Molloy stood unsuccessfully for Sinn Féin in the 1994 European Parliament election.[6]

Molloy was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996 representing Mid Ulster and then for the same constituency to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998, 2003 and 2007. In 2005, Molloy was temporarily suspended from Sinn Féin after publicly disagreeing with the party policy on eliminating many district councils, including the Dungannon Council of which he was a member.[7]

In December 2012, he was selected as the Sinn Féin candidate for the UK parliamentary constituency of Mid Ulster, which had been held by his party colleague Martin McGuinness since the 1997 general election.[8] The Mid Ulster by-election took place on 7 March 2013, with Molloy winning with 46.9% of the vote.[9]

In the run-up to the by-election, media attention focussed on past allegations about Molloy and how they related to the DUP/UUP-supported independent candidate Nigel Lutton. In 2007, DUP MP David Simpson had claimed during a debate in the Westminster parliament that Molloy had been a member of the IRA and was suspected by police of being involved in the fatal shooting of Lutton's father, Frederick Lutton, on 1 May 1979. The IRA had taken responsibility for it on the basis he was an RUC reservist. The investigation came to nothing, and Simpson claimed this was because Molloy was subsequently coerced into becoming a police informant, providing information that helped break up the IRA's East Tyrone Brigade.[10] Molloy denied the allegations and challenged anyone to repeat them outside Parliament so he could take legal action (the original speech being subject to parliamentary privilege and thus not actionable).Script error: No such module "Unsubst". UUP leader Mike Nesbitt said he had been unaware of the speech and that it had played no part in Lutton's selection.[11] Lutton denied the claims were behind his decision to stand.[12]

Molloy held his seat at the 2015, 2017 and 2019 general elections.[13][14][15] He announced in February 2024 that he would step down at the 2024 general election.[16]

References

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  1. ↑ Template:Belfast Gazette
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ 1985 Dungannon council results Template:Webarchive, ARK, accessed 3 January 2013.
  6. ↑ 1994 European election result Template:Webarchive, ARK, accessed 3 January 2013.
  7. ↑ Suspension for contradicting SF policy Template:Webarchive, BBC News; accessed 16 May 2016.
  8. ↑ Molloy to contest Mid Ulster when McGuiness steps down Template:Webarchive BBC News
  9. ↑ 2013 By-election Politics Resources
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

Template:Sister project

Template:Error
New forum Member for Mid Ulster
1996–1998 Template:S-ttl/check 		Forum dissolved
Template:Error
New assembly
 MLA for Mid Ulster
1998–2013 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Deputy Speaker
2007–2011
With: David McClarty 2007–2011
John Dallat 2007–2016 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
New office Principal Deputy Speaker
2011–2013 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by
Template:Error
Preceded byTemplate:S-bef/check Member of Parliament for Mid Ulster
2013–2024 Template:S-ttl/check 		Template:S-aft/check Succeeded by

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