# Fergus Finlay

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{{Short description|Irish politician and writer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name            = Fergus Finlay
| image           =
| birth_date      = {{birth date and age|1950|6|1|df=y}}
| birth_place     = [Cork](/source/Cork_(city)), Ireland
| death_date      = 
| death_place     = 
| political_party = [Labour Party](/source/Labour_Party_(Ireland))
| spouse          = 
| children        = 
| occupation      = {{Hlist|Presenter|columnist}}
| known_for       = Adviser to former [Tánaiste](/source/T%C3%A1naiste) [Dick Spring](/source/Dick_Spring)
| alma_mater      = [University College Cork](/source/University_College_Cork)
| signature       = 
| website         =  
}}
'''Fergus Finlay''' (born 1 June 1950)<ref>[https://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/columnists/fergus-finlay/i-was-65-yesterday-i-feel-the-same-but-ireland-has-changed-334050.html ''I was 65 yesterday. I feel just the same but Ireland has changed '', Irish Examiner, 2 June 2015.]</ref> is the former Chief Executive of the charity [Barnardos](/source/Barnardos) in [Ireland](/source/Republic_of_Ireland), leaving the post in 2018. He was a senior member of the [Irish Labour Party](/source/Labour_Party_(Ireland)) and is also a weekly columnist with the ''[Irish Examiner](/source/Irish_Examiner)'' and the author of a number of books.

Having worked in government press secretarial roles in the 1980s, Finlay served as an adviser to [Dick Spring](/source/Dick_Spring) from 1983 to 1997. During this time, he was involved in campaigns that led to the election of [Mary Robinson](/source/Mary_Robinson) as president, a large increase in the number of Labour [TD](/source/Teachta_D%C3%A1la)s following the [1992 general election](/source/1992_Irish_general_election), and the dropping of the constitutional ban on divorce in 1996.

He resigned from Labour in 1997, becoming a director of Wilson Hartnell Public Relations, heading the company's public affairs unit. In 1997, he also started presenting the [Network 2](/source/Network_2) show ''[Later On 2](/source/Later_On_2)'' with [Frank Dunlop](/source/Frank_Dunlop_(journalist)) former Press Secretary of [Fianna Fáil](/source/Fianna_F%C3%A1il). In April 2010, the ''[Sunday Business Post](/source/Sunday_Business_Post)'' said he is "one of the great backroom operators of Irish political history, a strategist, tactician, and media briefer par excellence."

Finlay is also credited with helping to organise the visit of the [Special Olympics](/source/Special_Olympics) to Ireland.{{citation needed|date=December 2010}}

In 2009, Finlay was listed in 59th place on a list of "most influential people" in Irish society put together for ''[Village](/source/Village_(magazine))'' magazine.<ref>[http://www.villagemagazine.ie/index.php/2009/11/irelands-most-influential-100-2009/ Ireland's Most Influential 100] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210212703/http://www.villagemagazine.ie/index.php/2009/11/irelands-most-influential-100-2009/ |date=10 February 2012 }} ''Village'' Magazine, November 4th, 2009. Retrieved November 1st, 2011.</ref>

On 9 September 2010, Finlay announced that he would seek the [Labour Party](/source/Labour_Party_(Ireland)) nomination to contest the [2011 Irish presidential election](/source/2011_Irish_presidential_election) to elect the successor to [Mary McAleese](/source/Mary_McAleese) as [President of Ireland](/source/President_of_Ireland).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Finlay seeks presidential nomination|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/finlay-seeks-presidential-nomination-1.863875|access-date=2021-08-02|website=The Irish Times|language=en}}</ref> [Michael D. Higgins](/source/Michael_D._Higgins) eventually won that nomination. Finlay congratulated Higgins on his victory, saying he was "looking forward" to Higgins' Presidency. 
<ref>[https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/arid-20172392.html Gallagher’s uncomfortable,shifty reaction was unpresidential] Fergus Finlay, ''Irish Examiner'', November 1st 2011. Retrieved November
1st 2011.</ref>

Finlay was awarded an honorary degree by [NUI Galway](/source/NUI_Galway) in 2019.

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050112040331/http://www.dit.ie/DIT/business/marketing/imta/program/conferences/finlay/ Profile from DIT]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070929145748/http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2005/03/27/story3461.asp Sunday Business Post article on Fergus Finlay]

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060622080132/http://www.barnardos.ie/about.htm Barnardo's, Ireland]

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finlay, Fergus}}
Category:1950 births
Category:Irish columnists
Category:Irish male non-fiction writers
Category:Irish non-fiction writers
Category:Labour Party (Ireland) politicians
Category:Living people

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Fergus Finlay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fergus_Finlay) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fergus_Finlay?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.