Gay Mitchell

Gabriel "Gay" Mitchell (born 30 December 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Dublin constituency from 2004 to 2014. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South–Central constituency from 1981 to 2007. He was defeated by Enda Kenny in the 2002 Fine Gael leadership election. Mitchell was the Fine Gael candidate at the 2011 Irish presidential election.

Biography

Gabriel Mitchell was born in Inchicore, Dublin in 1951. Mitchell's mother, Eileen, was left a widow with nine children whom she supported by working as an office cleaner. He was educated at St. Michael's Congregation of Christian Brothers, Emmet Road Vocational School, Dublin Institute of Technology, College of Commerce, and Queen's University Belfast. His brother, Jim Mitchell, was a long-serving Fine Gael TD and former government minister.

Political career

He first became involved in politics in 1979 as a member of Dublin City Council. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fine Gael TD in the 1981 general election for the Dublin South–Central constituency. Since then he has served as a Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs with special responsibility for European Affairs. He was the Irish Representative on the Reflection Group which prepared the Amsterdam Treaty.

Gay Mitchell (Gaelic footballer)

Gay Mitchell (born 1948 in Dunmore, County Galway) is an Irish former sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club Dunmore McHales and was a member of the Galway senior inter-county team in the 1970s.

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