Duncan Smith (Irish politician)

Duncan Smith (born 17 May 1983) is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Fingal constituency since the 2020 general election.[1]

Duncan Smith
TD
Smith in 2020
Teachta Dála
Assumed office
February 2020
ConstituencyDublin Fingal
Personal details
Born (1983-05-17) 17 May 1983
Dublin, Ireland
Political partyLabour Party
Children1
Alma materDublin City University

Political career

Smith was a member of Fingal County Council from 2014 to 2020. Smith contested the 2019 Dublin Fingal by-election, receiving 3,821 first preference votes (15.2% of the vote), but was not elected.[2][3][4]

At the 2020 general election, Smith was elected as a TD for Dublin Fingal.[5][6] After his election to the Dáil, James Humphreys was co-opted to Smith's seat on Fingal County Council.[7] He was one of two TDs to nominate Alan Kelly for the position of Labour Party leader in the 2020 leadership election.[8]

In 2021, Smith received media attention for criticising Michael and Danny Healy-Rae in the Dáil, after the two TDs had accused Labour of being "anti-worker" after proposing a zero-COVID strategy, accusing the Healy-Raes of coming from a background of "Fianna Fáil privilege and millions and millions of euros" and "pretending to be working class.[9][10][11][12] He received praise from Miriam Lord for this, being dubbed a "working-class hero" in her column.[13]

Smith was the Labour Party Director of Elections for Ivana Bacik in the 2021 Dublin Bay South by-election.[14]

Personal life

Smith's father was a carpenter by profession.[9] Smith studied at Dublin City University, completing a bachelors degree in business studies and a masters degree in International Security and Conflict Resolution.[15] He is currently studying for a PhD in nuclear disarmament studies.[16]

He is married and has one son.[15]

References
  1. "Duncan Smith". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  2. "Duncan Smith". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 6 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  3. Kelly, Fiach (30 November 2019). "Dublin Fingal: Joe O'Brien wins Green Party's first ever byelection". Irish Times. Dublin. Archived from the original on 5 June 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  4. "Dublin Fingal". Irish Times. Dublin. 30 November 2019. Archived from the original on 5 June 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  5. Wall, Martin. "Dublin Fingal results: SF wave results in high-profile Fine Gael casualty". Irish Times. Dublin. Archived from the original on 6 June 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  6. "Election 2020: Dublin Fingal". Irish Times. Dublin. 10 February 2020. Archived from the original on 6 June 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  7. "Four new councillors co-opted". Fingal County Council. 25 February 2020. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020.
  8. McNeice, Stephen. "Alan Kelly says he would 'relish' a contest for Labour leadership". Newstalk. Archived from the original on 27 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  9. O'Brien, Mark (10 February 2021). "Dublin TD Duncan Smith rips into Healy-Raes as 'caricatures' who 'pretend to be working class'". Dublin Live. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  10. Molony, Senan. "TD accuses Healy-Rae brothers of 'driving their Mercedes into their big plant hire shops' in attack on their wealth". The Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  11. "Duncan Smith labels Healy Rae's Merc driving business owners". Newstalk. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  12. O'Neill, Dylan. "WATCH: Danny and Michael Healy-Rae criticises Labour's Duncan Smith over "FF privilege" comment". Buzz.ie. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  13. Lord, Miriam. "Miriam Lord: Working-class hero shouts down the Culchie Whisperers". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  14. "Duncan Smith appointed Labour Party Director of Elections | The Labour Party". The Labour Party. 14 May 2021. Archived from the original on 8 July 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  15. "Duncan Smith TD - Biography". The Labour Party. 5 November 2015. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  16. Wall, Martin. "Election 2020: Duncan Smith (Labour)". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
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