Tom Gildea

Tom Gildea
Teachta Dála
In office June 1997 – May 2002
Constituency	Donegal South-West
Donegal County Councillor
In office June 1999 – June 2004
Constituency	Glenties
Personal details
Born	September 1939 (age 85) County Donegal, Ireland
Political party	Independent
Spouse	Eilish Hegarty
Children	1

Thomas Gildea (born September 1939) is an Irish former politician who was elected as an independent Teachta Dála (TD) at the 1997 general election.[1]

A farmer representing Donegal South-West, he won popular local support for his ultimately successful campaign to legalise 'deflectors' which re-transmitted British television channels in rural areas, but which had been shut down in the wake of legal action by cable and MMDS operators.[2][3] He supported the Fianna Fáil–Progressive Democrats minority coalition government from 1997 to 2002.[4] Gildea himself operated a deflector system in Donegal.

In the 1999 local elections, he was elected as a member of Donegal County Council for Glenties.[5] He did not contest the 2002 general election and retired from politics at the 2004 local elections.[5]

He was later Chairman of the National Community Television Association.

In July 2000, he married Eilish Hegarty.[6] They have one child.[4]

References

1. "Thomas Gildea". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
2. "Poll predicts Gildea will lose seat". RTÉ News. 19 February 2002.
3. There have been other notable single issue 'deflector' candidates who ran unsuccessfully in general elections elsewhere in the country — Dermot Kirwan representing the Waterford deflector groups ran in Waterford at the 1997 general election, while the 1992 general election saw Liam Hurley of South Coast Community TV standing in the Cork South-Central constituency.
4. "Shy TD's unexpected outburst". Irish Independent. 23 November 2001. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
5. "Tom Gildea". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
6. "Gildea surrenders his independent status in secret Donegal ceremony". The Irish Times. 12 July 2000. Retrieved 9 June 2023.