Denis Haughey
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
for Mid Ulster
In office
25 June 1998 – 26 November 2003
Preceded byNew Creation
Succeeded byPatsy McGlone
Personal details
Born (1944-10-03) 3 October 1944 (age 79)
Coalisland, Northern Ireland
Political partySDLP
Alma materQueen's University Belfast

Denis Haughey (born 3 October 1944) is a former Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland.

Born in Coalisland, Haughey studied politics at Queens University, Belfast,[1] becoming involved in the civil rights movement and the first Chair of the Tyrone Civil Rights Association[2] and a founder member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), before becoming a teacher.[1] From 1972 until 1977, he was the party's Chairman.[2]

Haughey stood against Frank McManus for the Westminster seat of Fermanagh and South Tyrone in February 1974, splitting the nationalist vote and letting in Harry West of the Ulster Unionist Party.[3] He unsuccessfully contested North Antrim in the 1975 election to the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention[4]

In 1980, Haughey left teaching to work as the full-time assistant to SDLP leader John Hume.[1] During this period, he served as the party's International Secretary, and represented the SDLP on the Executives of the Party of European Socialists and the Socialist International. At the 1982 Northern Ireland Assembly election, Haughey was elected to represent Mid Ulster, but with other SDLP candidates did not take his seat, and instead joined the New Ireland Forum. He stood unsuccessfully for the Westminster seat of Mid Ulster at every general election from 1983 until 1997.[2]

In 1989, Haughey was elected to Cookstown District Council, later becoming the leader of the SDLP group on the council. He led the SDLP team in the Brooke-Mayhew Talks and later the talks which led to the Good Friday Agreement. In 1996 he was an unsuccessful candidate in the Northern Ireland Forum election in Mid-Ulster.[5] At the 1998 Assembly election, he was again elected for Mid Ulster.[1] However, he lost his seat at the 2003 election,[2] and in 2004 was unsuccessful in becoming the party's candidate for the European election.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Biography - Denis Haughey, Northern Ireland Assembly Archived 26 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b c d Biographies of Prominent People - 'H', CAIN Web Service
  3. ^ Fermanagh and South Tyrone, 1973-1982, Northern Ireland Elections
  4. ^ North Antrim 1973-82
  5. ^ Northern Ireland elections
  6. ^ "Morgan plans to carry on the work of Hume", Belfast Telegraph, 8 March 2004
Northern Ireland Assembly (1982) New assembly MPA for Mid-Ulster 1982–1986 Assembly abolished Northern Ireland Assembly New assembly MLA for Mid-Ulster 1998–2003 Succeeded byPatsy McGlone Political offices New office Junior Minister 1999–2000 VacantOffice suspendedTitle next held byself VacantOffice suspendedTitle last held byself Junior Minister 2000–2002 VacantOffice suspended Party political offices Preceded byEddie McGrady Chairperson of the Social Democratic and Labour Party 1973–1978 Succeeded byBríd Rodgers
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