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Kieran McCarthy (born 9 September 1942) is a Northern Ireland politician, member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Strangford and Assembly chief whip for the Alliance Party.
McCarthy was born in Newtownards and worked as a draper. In 1985 he was first elected to Ards Borough Council. In 1990 he became a Justice of the Peace. He was then elected to the Northern Ireland Peace Forum in 1996 from Strangford and has subsequently won a Northern Ireland Assembly seat there in all three elections to that body. In the 2007 elections his seat was targeted by the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP),[1] but he won easily with a significantly increased vote.
He has stated his appreciation for the Good Friday Agreement on a number of occasions, but believes a more party-aligned/devolved agreement would work more effectively.
McCarthy has stated his strong dislike for Direct Rule, causing a major democratic deficit, and in particular was against the supposedly aggressive style of governing from the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Peter Hain.
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