John Finucane
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John Finucane
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 Finucane in 2022
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Member of Parliament for Belfast North | |
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Assumed office 12 December 2019 |
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| Preceded by | Nigel Dodds |
| Majority | 1,943 (4.0%) |
| 76th Lord Mayor of Belfast | |
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In office 1 June 2019 – 18 December 2019 |
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| Deputy | Peter McReynolds |
| Preceded by | Deirdre Hargey |
| Succeeded by | Daniel Baker |
| Member of Belfast City Council | |
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In office 7 May 2019 – 13 December 2019 |
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| Preceded by | Mary Campbell |
| Succeeded by | Conor Maskey |
| Constituency | Castle |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1980 (age 43–44) Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Political party | Sinn Féin |
| Children | 4 |
| Residence | North Belfast |
| Education | St Malachy's College |
| Occupation | Politician |
John Finucane (born 1980) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician and solicitor. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for the Belfast North constituency of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since the 2019 general election.
Early life
Finucane is the son of the Irish lawyer Pat Finucane, who was murdered in 1989 at his family home by loyalist paramilitaries, a murder that BBC News called "one of the most controversial killings during The Troubles". Finucane's father was a Roman Catholic from west Belfast, whilst his mother came from a Protestant family in east Belfast. Several of Finucane's close relatives on his father's side were members of the Irish Republican Army.
Political career
At the 2017 United Kingdom general election Finucane contested the Belfast North parliamentary constituency for Sinn Féin; the sitting MP was Nigel Dodds of the Democratic Unionist Party. Finucane secured Sinn Féin's highest vote share ever in the constituency but failed to unseat Dodds. Former Provisional IRA member Sean Kelly, who was convicted of nine counts of murder for his role in the Shankill Road bombing in 1993, canvassed for Finucane in the election.
In 2019, Finucane ran for Belfast City Council in the Castle constituency. Also on the ballot were his former St Malachy's College classmates Mal O'Hara of the Green Party and Carl Whyte of the SDLP. Finucane won 1,650 votes, placing him second in the poll behind Nuala McAllister of the Alliance Party. He was consequently elected as a councillor.
Finucane was elected as Lord Mayor of Belfast in May 2019. Shortly after being elected Lord Mayor at Belfast City Hall, he was informed by the Police Service of Northern Ireland that loyalists had made credible threats to his life and planned to attack his family home. Finucane remarked "I am committed to serving and representing all the people of this city and I will not be deterred from that by threats from anyone." The next day, he welcomed Charles, Prince of Wales to the city whilst he was on an official visit.
At the 2019 United Kingdom general election Finucane again contested Belfast North, winning the seat with 23,078 votes to Dodds' 21,135. He is the first Irish nationalist MP in the history of the constituency.
When Sky News revealed Westminster Accounts in January 2023, Finucane was shown to be the highest-earning Northern Irish MP exclusive of Westminster pay (which Finucane does not take due to his party's non-attendance at Westminster). Most of his secondary earnings came from his work as a solicitor with Belfast law firm Finucane Toner.
Personal life
Finucane serves as goalkeeper and captain of GAA's Lámh Dhearg GAC. He has four children.