Seán Sherlock

Seán Sherlock (born 6 December 1972) is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork East constituency since the 2007 general election. He served as a Minister of State from 2011 to 2016.[1]

Seán Sherlock
TD
Minister of State
2014–2016Foreign Affairs and Trade
2011–2014Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
2011–2014Education and Skills
Teachta Dála
Assumed office
May 2007
ConstituencyCork East
Personal details
Born (1972-12-06) 6 December 1972
Cork, Ireland
Political partyLabour Party
Spouse
Máire Ní Ríordáin
​
(m. 2015)​
Children3
Parent
Alma materUniversity College Galway

Early life

Sherlock was born in Cork in 1972, but is a native of Mallow, County Cork. He is the son of Joe Sherlock, who at the time was an Official Sinn Féin member of Cork County Council. He was educated locally at St. Patrick's Boys' National School and the Patrician Academy, before later attending Cork College of Commerce. Sherlock subsequently studied at University College Galway,[2] where he completed a degree in Economics and Politics.

Political career

Sherlock first became directly involved in politics when he served a six-month internship with MEP Proinsias De Rossa, in his office at the European Parliament. Following the completion of his internship he was offered a full-time job working as an assistant to de Rossa.

In 2002, Sherlock served as election manager for his father in his attempt to win back a seat in the Cork East constituency at the general election as a Labour Party candidate. The campaign was successful; Joe Sherlock returned to Dáil Éireann after a ten-year absence.

The abolition of the dual mandate in 2003 meant that Joe Sherlock had to vacate his seats on Mallow Town Council and Cork County Council. Seán was co-opted onto both councils that year. The following year he won both seats in his own right when he was successful at the local elections. He was then elected Mayor of Mallow.

When Joe Sherlock announced that he would not be contesting the 2007 general election, Seán was selected to succeed him. He contested Cork East for the Labour Party and was elected.[3] A Fianna Fáil-led government returned to office for the third successive election. Seán Sherlock was appointed Labour Party Spokesperson on Agriculture and Food.

Minister of State

Sherlock retained his Dáil seat at the 2011 general election, topping the poll in Cork East. He was appointed by the new Fine Gael–Labour coalition government as Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and at the Department of Education and Skills with special responsibility for Research and Innovation.[4][5][6]

In January 2012, Sherlock proposed legislation to give copyright holders the right to seek an injunction against copyright violators. A group called "Stop SOPA Ireland" petitioned against the legislation, comparisons being made between these reforms and the Stop Online Piracy Act in the United States. Sherlock said such comparisons were "not based on fact".[7] According to the Irish government the legislation was intended to close a loophole after a High Court case in 2010, in which EMI sued UPC, an internet service provider, over illegal downloads. A denial-of-service attack was performed against government websites in protest over the changes.[8] On 29 February 2012, Sherlock signed the legislation, citing Ireland's "obligations under EU law".[9][10] The legislation subsequently resulted in the blocking of The Pirate Bay in Ireland.[11]

On 15 July 2014, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with special responsibility for Overseas Development Aid, Trade Promotion and North–South Cooperation.[12][13]

Return to opposition

Following the 2016 general election, Sherlock was one of seven remaining Labour TDs.[14][15] He opposed returning to coalition with Fine Gael during the government formation talks that year.[16] He continued to serve as a junior minister until the new government was formed on 6 May 2016. He was Party Spokesperson on Children and Youth Affairs and the Environment in the 32nd Dáil.

Sherlock was re-elected at the 2020 general election.[17][18] When Brendan Howlin stood down as party leader in 2020, Sherlock ruled out contesting the Labour Party leadership election.[19] He nominated Alan Kelly, who would defeat Aodhán Ó Ríordáin.[20][21] In July 2020, Sherlock was appointed Labour Party Spokesperson on Social Protection, Rural and Community Affairs and the Islands, including Agriculture and the Marine.[22]

Following the redrawing of his constituency, Sherlock announced in October 2023 that he would not run in the next general election.[23]

See also

References
  1. "Seán Sherlock". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  2. "Former NUI Galway Students, including Taoiseach, take senior roles in Cabinet". Spring 2011. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012.
  3. "Seán Sherlock". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 20 May 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2009.
  4. "Kenny breaks election pledge by not cutting junior ministers". Irish Examiner. 11 March 2011. Archived from the original on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
  5. "Appointment of Ministers of State" (PDF). Iris Oifigiúil. 2011 (23): 402–403. 22 March 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  6. Enterprise, Trade and Innovation (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) (No. 4) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 241 of 2011). Signed on 24 May 2011. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 7 April 2021.
  7. Edwards, Elaine (26 January 2012). "Copyright 'piracy' measurepublished". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 29 January 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  8. "Anti copyright hackers claim responsibility for government website attacks". Irish Independent. 25 January 2012. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  9. "Sherlock signs copyright amendment law". RTÉ News. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 29 February 2012. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  10. Carbery, Genevieve (29 February 2012). "Internet copyright law signed". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  11. "Ireland's High Court orders six ISPs to block access to The Pirate Bay". Silicon Republic. 16 June 2013. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  12. "Simon Harris among new Ministers of State". RTÉ News. 15 July 2014. Archived from the original on 20 July 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  13. "Appointment of Ministers of State" (PDF). Iris Oifigiúil. 2014 (62): 1172–1173. 5 August 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  14. MacGuill, Dan. "Labour just had the worst election in its 104-year history". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  15. "Cork East looking to be very much 'as you are'". independent. Archived from the original on 19 January 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  16. Roche, Barry. "Labour's Sean Sherlock against coalition deal with Fine Gael". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  17. O'Halloran, Marie. "Election 2020: Seán Sherlock (Labour)". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  18. O'Riordan, Seán (10 February 2020). "Cork East results: Final three seats decided on count eight". The Irish Times. Dublin. Archived from the original on 5 June 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  19. "Sherlock rules himself out of Labour leadership contest after Brendan Howlin calls it quits". Echo Live. 12 February 2020. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  20. Duffy, Rónán. "Alan Kelly v Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: Two TDs set to compete for Labour leadership". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 17 March 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  21. "'There is a hard road ahead' — Alan Kelly launches bid for Labour leadership". Extra.ie. 18 February 2020. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  22. TheCork.ie (7 July 2020). "Cork retains Agri TD as Labour's Sean Sherlock appointed spokesman on Social Protection & Agriculture". TheCork.ie (News). Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  23. "Labour TD Seán Sherlock says he will not run in next general election". The Irish Times. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
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