Danny Kinahan
Daniel de Burgh Kinahan (born 14 April 1958) is a British politician from the Ulster Unionist Party, a former Member of Parliament for South Antrim and former member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for South Antrim. In 2005 he was elected to Antrim Borough Council, and in June 2009 he was appointed to the South Antrim seat in the Assembly vacated by the resignation of David Burnside.[1]
Danny Kinahan | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for South Antrim | |
In office 8 May 2015 – 3 May 2017 | |
Preceded by | William McCrea |
Succeeded by | Paul Girvan |
Member of the Legislative Assembly for South Antrim | |
In office 1 June 2009 – 24 June 2015 | |
Preceded by | David Burnside |
Succeeded by | Adrian Cochrane-Watson |
Personal details | |
Born | Daniel de Burgh Kinahan 14 April 1958 Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK |
Political party | Ulster Unionist Party |
Spouse(s) | Anna |
Children | 4 |
Alma mater | University of Edinburgh Royal Military Academy Sandhurst |
Military service | |
Allegiance | |
Branch/service | British Army |
Rank | Captain |
Unit | Blues and Royals |
Personal
He is the son of the late Sir Robin Kinahan and Coralie de Burgh and was educated at Craigflower Preparatory School (Torryburn[2]), Stowe School and the University of Edinburgh. He is a cousin of singer Chris de Burgh.[3] Professionally Kinahan is an antiques expert and worked as Christie's auctioneers Irish representative.[4] He lives with his wife and four children at Castle Upton, Templepatrick. In 2016 he announced he was selling the family home to downsize following the moving out of his children.
Northern Ireland Assembly
On 28 May 2009, the UUP South Antrim branch selected Danny to replace the outgoing MLA David Burnside who resigned to pursue business interests. Mr Burnside officially stood down on 1 June. Danny was sworn in on 9 June.
Danny faced his first NI Assembly election in May 2011 and was returned to Parliament Buildings with 3,445 first preference votes. During his second period in Stormont, he was heavily involved in education legislation as the UUP's spokesperson on the policy area.
As Deputy Chair of the Education Committee, Danny became a leading figure during the passage of the Education Bill. As Deputy Chair of the Education Committee, Danny became a leading figure during the passage of the Education Bill. Danny was vehemently opposed to the Sinn Féin policy of politicising Grammar Schools which are among the top performing schools in the United Kingdom. Sinn Féin's campaign to scrap Grammar Schools was thwarted by Danny and his UUP colleagues who diligently argued the case for academic capability streaming. He is also strongly in favour of shared and integrated education, greater emphasis on STEM subjects, a wider selection of apprenticeships, stronger provision of careers advice and more thorough and engaging university degrees. He is strongly in favour of shared and integrated education, greater emphasis on STEM subjects, a wider selection of apprenticeships, stronger provision of careers advice and more thorough and engaging university degrees.
He stepped down after his election to Westminster and was replaced by Adrian Cochrane-Watson.[5]
Westminster
The UUP decided to run Kinahan in the 2015 General Election. He ousted the incumbent DUP MP Rev. William McCrea with a majority of 949.
General Election 2017
Following a strong resurgence of the DUP and Sinn Féin in the 2017 General Election, Kinahan lost his seat to Paul Girvan by 3,208 votes.
References
- "UUP select Burnside replacement". BBC News. 27 May 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- Torryburn
- Hello (6 March 2007). "Billy Kennedy's election predictions continue..." The Newsletter. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- Queen's University Belfast, Antiques Evening Archived August 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- Lorna McKay lorna.mckay@jpress.co.uk (24 June 2015). "Watson new South Antrim MLA". Antrimtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
Northern Ireland Assembly | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by David Burnside |
Member of the Legislative Assembly for South Antrim 2009–2015 |
Succeeded by Adrian Cochrane-Watson |
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
Preceded by William McCrea |
Member of Parliament for South Antrim 2015–2017 |
Succeeded by Paul Girvan |