Peter Fitzpatrick

Peter Fitzpatrick (born 11 May 1962) is an Irish former independent and Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Louth constituency from 2011 to 2024.

He was a former soldier in the 27 Infantry Battalion and also a former manager of the Louth county football team.

Sporting career A member of the Clan na Gael GAA club in Dundalk, Fitzpatrick won a Leinster Under-21 championship medal with Louth in 1981. He had a successful club career with Clan na Gael, winning five Louth SFC titles, nine Senior Football Leagues and six ACC Cup medals. He was also a member of the Dundalk F.C. reserve side that won the 1982–1983 League of Ireland B Division.

Fitzpatrick was appointed the manager of Louth in November 2009, succeeding Eamonn McEneaney, the former Monaghan footballer and manager. In his first season in charge of Louth, the team reached their first Leinster final in 50 years. The 2010 Leinster Senior Football Championship Final saw them compete against Meath. Louth almost won but for a controversial goal by Joe Sheridan late in the game. Louth subsequently entered the 2010 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship through the "back door". However, the team lost heavily to Dublin in their next game, thus ending the county's 2010 championship season.

In the 2011 season, Louth qualified for the Division 3 League Final where they faced Westmeath. Louth won on a scoreline of 1–15 to 0–13.

Fitzpatrick quit in 2012 after three years. He went on to become the chairperson of the Louth County Board, and was in this role when Mickey Harte was appointed Louth manager in 2020, also with the successful application for planning for a new stadium for Louth GAA.

Political career Fitzpatrick allowed his name to go forward for a nomination for Fine Gael ahead of the 2011 general election. He was elected as a Fine Gael TD for Louth. In Dáil Éireann, he sat on the Committee for Transport, Tourism and Sport, and previously on the Health committee.

He opposed the legalisation of abortion in Ireland, calling for a "No" vote in the 2018 abortion referendum. In August 2018, he announced that he would not contest the next general election for Fine Gael.

Fitzpatrick was elected as an independent candidate for Louth at the 2020 general election. At the time he was the first independent to be elected for the constituency since James Coburn (later of Fine Gael) at the 1932 general election, although Coburn was elected for the National League.

On 30 August 2024, Fitzpatrick announced that he would not contest the next general election.