Fra McCann

Fra McCann (born 19 June 1953) is an Irish politician. McCann became active in the Irish republican movement and was imprisoned in the 1970s for membership of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and took part in the blanket protest while in prison.[2] In 1987, he was elected to Belfast City Council in a by-election,[3] representing Sinn Féin.

Fra McCann
MLA
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
for West Belfast
In office
26 November 2003 – November 2021
Preceded byAlex Maskey
Succeeded byAisling Reilly
Personal details
Born (1953-06-19) 19 June 1953 [1]
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Political partySinn Féin
WebsiteFra McCann MLA

McCann was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly representing West Belfast in 2003 and again in 2007, 2012 and 2018.[4]

He was imprisoned during the 1970s for firearms offences. While being held in H-Block 3 of the Maze, McCann befriended Kieran Nugent and participated in the blanket protest.[5]

In June 2006 McCann was charged with assault and disorderly behaviour following an incident in west Belfast. The incident occurred as the PSNI attempted to arrest a teenager for attempted robbery. However, McCann claimed heavy-handedness by the police and stated "I tried to put myself between one of the officers and the girl when the police officer radioed for assistance." McCann was released on bail.[6][7]

In October 2021, Fra McCann announced that he would be stepping down as MLA for West Belfast and would not be contesting the next election.[8]

References
  1. Profile, niassembly.gov.uk; accessed 5 March 2017.
  2. Eimear McGovern (10 December 2019). "Sinn Féin MLA Fra McCann reveals prostate cancer diagnosis". Belfasttelegraph. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  3. 1987 by-election Archived 21 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Fra McCann MLA West Belfast Archived 30 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine, sinnfeinonline.com; accessed 5 March 2017.
  5. Sinn Féin politicians, village.ie; accessed 5 March 2017.
  6. Report of McCann's arrest in June 2006, bbc.co.uk; accessed 5 March 2017.
  7. The wrong sort of involvement in policing, sluggerotoole.com; accessed 5 March 2017.
  8. Hughes, Brendan (11 October 2021). "Sinn Féin MLA to step down from NI Assembly due to ill health". BelfastLive. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
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