Pat the Cope Gallagher

Pat the Cope Gallagher
Member of the European Parliament
In office June 2009 – May 2014
Constituency	North-West
In office June 1994 – June 2002
Constituency	Connacht–Ulster
Teachta Dála
In office May 2002 – June 2009
In office June 1981 – June 1997
Constituency	Donegal South–West
Personal details
Born	(1948-03-10) 10 March 1948 Burtonport, County Donegal
Nationality	Irish
Political party	Fianna Fáil
Spouse(s)	Ann Gillespie
Alma mater	University College Galway
Website	www.patthecope.com

Pat the Cope Gallagher (Irish: Pádraigh Ó Gallchóir Cope; born 10 March 1948) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician. He is a former ALDE Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the North-West constituency, having previously served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Donegal South–West constituency and as a junior minister.

Background

Gallagher was born in Burtonport, a fishing port in The Rosses in the west of County Donegal in Ireland. He is the grandson of Paddy 'the Cope' Gallagher, of the Irish Co-Operative movement. He was educated at Dungloe Secondary School, St. Enda's College, Galway, and University College, Galway (UCG), where he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1970. He worked as a fish exporter until 1982, becoming involved in local politics in 1979.

Family

His middle name 'The Cope' refers to his family connection to The Cope agricultural cooperative which operates in The Rosses area of West Donegal. This name is used in his profile on the Fianna Fáil website and on the European Parliament website. Gallagher was a member of the European Parliament's Committee on Fisheries and also serves as Chairman of the delegation for relations with Switzerland, Iceland and Norway and to the European Economic Area (EEA) Joint Parliamentary Committee.

Gallagher's wife, Ann Gillespie, and her sister, Eibhlin, both served almost 10 years of a 15-year sentence for conspiracy and explosive charges. In 1974 the sisters were visiting a house in Manchester when a bomb being made there exploded.

Gillespie maintains her innocence, saying police used evidence from discredited scientist Frank Skuse, but does not wish to reopen the case. In 2005 Gillespie's solicitor, Gareth Peirce, stated she believed that the case could have been successfully re-opened.

Political career

Gallagher was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1981 general election, retaining his seat until retiring at the 1997 general election. Gallagher was appointed Minister of State for Marine and the Gaeltacht in 1987, serving in that post until 1994.

In 1994 he was elected to the European Parliament as an MEP for the Connacht–Ulster constituency and was re-elected at the 1999 European Parliament election. During his period in Europe, Gallagher was a member of a number of committees including Fisheries, Economics and Monetary and Industry and Energy.

He returned to domestic politics to successfully contest the 2002 general election and he was appointed Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. In Bertie Ahern's Cabinet reshuffle in 2004 he received the portfolio of Minister of State for the Marine. Following a period in this role, Gallagher was moved to the Department of Transport in February 2006 where he served as Minister of State until May 2007. In June 2007 he was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children with responsibility for Health Promotion and Food Safety. He was not re-appointed as a Minister of State after Brian Cowen became Taoiseach in May 2008.

He was elected as an MEP for the North-West constituency at the 2009 European Parliament election. Immediately thereafter Gallagher replaced Brian Crowley as the head of Fianna Fáil's European delegation; this promotion came in the aftermath of Crowley publicly attacking the party's decision to join the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party. Gallagher is a member of the European Parliament's Committee on Fisheries

In addition to being a serving politician in Europe, Gallagher receives annual pension payments of €70,562 a year from his time as a TD and junior minister. He has stated that he donates the entire amount to charitable causes.

He narrowly lost his seat at the 2014 European Parliament election.

External links

• Official website
• Pat the Cope Gallagher's page on the Fianna Fáil website

Oireachtas
New constituency	Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála for Donegal South–West 1981–1997	Succeeded by Tom Gildea (Independent)
Preceded by Tom Gildea (Independent)	Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála for Donegal South–West 2002–2009	Succeeded by Pearse Doherty (Sinn Féin)
European Parliament
Preceded by Neil Blaney	Member of the European Parliament for Connacht–Ulster 1994–2002	Succeeded by Seán Ó Neachtain
Preceded by Seán Ó Neachtain	Member of the European Parliament for North-West 2009–2014	Succeeded by Constituency abolished
Political offices
New office	Minister of State for the Marine 1987–1989	Succeeded by Michael J. Noonan
Preceded by Denis Gallagher	Minister of State for the Gaeltacht 1989–1994	Office abolished
Preceded by Michael J. Noonan	Minister of State for the Marine 1992–1993	Succeeded by Gerry O'Sullivan
Preceded by Dan Wallace	Minister of State for Environmental Protection 2002–2004	Succeeded by Batt O'Keeffe
Preceded by John Browne	Minister of State for the Marine 2004–2006	Succeeded by John Browne
Preceded by Ivor Callely	Minister of State for Traffic Management, Road Haulage and the Irish Aviation Authority 2006–2007	Office abolished
Preceded by Seán Power	Minister of State for Health Promotion and Food Safety 2007–2008	Succeeded by Mary Wallace