David Cullinane

David Cullinane (born 4 July 1974) is an Irish politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Waterford constituency since the 2016 general election. He previously served as a Senator for the Labour Panel from 2011 to 2016.

Personal life Cullinane was born in Waterford in 1974. He was married to Kathleen Funchion, who is a MEP for South.

Political career He was elected to Waterford City Council at the 2004 local elections and retained his seat at the 2009 local elections.

He became a member of in May 2011, as a senator for the Labour Panel. The Irish Times described him in the Seanad as "a frequent, informed and often abrasive contributor across a wide range of areas, with a keen attention to the nuances of legislation".

He unsuccessfully contested the Waterford constituency at the 2002, 2007 and 2011 general elections, before winning a seat in 2016. He was re-elected in 2020, when his 20,596 first preference votes amounted to 1.95 quotas,

Cullinane drew criticism on election night when a 30-second video uploaded to Twitter showed him ending his election victory speech with the phrases "up the Republic, Up the 'Ra and ". When questioned about the appropriateness of using these phrases associated with support for the IRA, Cullinane stated: "Yesterday was a very emotional day for me ... It was a long count and obviously we were very excited and very proud of the vote we got yesterday in Waterford. The 30-second clip was part of a longer speech that I gave where I was reflecting back on the hunger strikes, reflecting back on the fact that Kevin Lynch stood in the Waterford constituency in 1981. He was someone who inspired me and inspired I think many republicans. The comments were made in that context."

At the 2024 general election, Cullinane was re-elected to the Dáil.

In April 2025 Cullinane, 's health spokesperson, was criticised for describing the British Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers (which defined “woman” and “sex” to exclude transgender women from legal recognition) as a “common sense judgement” worth considering in Ireland. After Cullinane deleted the post and issued an apology, Trans and Intersex Pride Dublin threatened to ban from its July march unless the party clarified its stance and reversed support for a puberty blocker ban in Northern Ireland. The group accused of enabling anti-trans policies in Northern Ireland while “pinkwashing” its image in the Republic.