Kieran McCarthy is a Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 politician, member of the Northern Ireland Assembly

Northern Ireland Assembly

The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...

 for Strangford

Strangford (UK Parliament constituency)

Strangford is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons.-Boundaries:The seat was created in boundary changes in 1983, as part of an expansion of Northern Ireland's constituencies from 12 to 17, and was predominantly made up from parts of North Down...

 and Assembly chief whip for the Alliance Party

Alliance Party of Northern Ireland

The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland is a liberal and nonsectarian political party in Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's fifth-largest party overall, with eight seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly and one in the House of Commons....

.

McCarthy was born in Newtownards

Newtownards

Newtownards is a large town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. Newtownards is the largest town in the Borough of Ards. According to the 2001 Census, it has a population of 27,821 people in...

 and worked as a draper. In 1985 he was first elected to Ards Borough Council. In 1990 he became a Justice of the Peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

. 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

Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2007

The third elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held on 7 March 2007 when 108 new members were elected. The election saw endorsement of the St Andrews Agreement and the two largest parties, the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin, along with the Alliance Party, increase their...

 elections his seat was targeted by the Social Democratic and Labour Party

Social Democratic and Labour Party

The Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. Its basic party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom...

 (SDLP), 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

Direct Rule

Direct rule was the term given, during the late 20th and early 21st centuries, to the administration of Northern Ireland directly from Westminster, seat of United Kingdom government...

, 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

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...

, Peter Hain

Peter Hain

Peter Gerald Hain is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for the Welsh constituency of Neath since 1991, and has served in the Cabinets of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, firstly as Leader of the House of Commons under Blair and both Secretary of State for...

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