Jimmy Harte

Background Harte was educated at St Eunan's College in Letterkenny, and obtained a B.A. in Psychology from University College Dublin. He set up his own insurance broker business, Harte Insurances, at the age of 24.

The son of former Fine Gael TD Paddy Harte, he was elected as a Fine Gael candidate to Letterkenny Town Council in 1994 and subsequently to Donegal County Council in 1999. In 2006 he resigned from Fine Gael after failing to secure a nomination from the party to contest the Donegal North-East constituency for the 2007 general election. He subsequently stood as an independent candidate at that election but was not elected.

National politics Harte joined the Labour Party in 2010 and was that party's candidate for the 2011 general election for Donegal North-East, where he was unsuccessful in winning a seat.

Health In the early hours of 16 November 2013, Harte was found unconscious at Newmarket Square, Dublin with severe head injuries, having suffered a fall. He was taken to Beaumont Hospital and put in an induced coma, and underwent surgery for a fractured skull and brain trauma. He had attended the Ireland–Latvia soccer friendly at the Aviva Stadium some hours earlier. In late November 2013, he moved his hand. In January 2014, Harte was transferred back to Beaumont Hospital in a critical condition.

Harte resigned from the Seanad on 23 September 2015, and underwent rehabilitative care for 2 years. As of May 2020, he is in Larissa Lodge Nursing Home.