Maurice Quinlivan is a Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...

 politician and a member of Limerick City Council

Limerick City Council

Limerick City Council is the local authority which is responsible for the city of Limerick in Ireland. It is the responsible for local government, sanitation, motor vehicles tax, and social housing.-History:...

 . He gained prominence for being libelled by Willie O'Dea

Willie O'Dea

Willie O'Dea is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and a Teachta Dála for the Limerick City constituency. He served as the Minister for Defence from September 2004 until 18 February 2010, when he resigned from his post due to controversy over a defamation case.-Early and private life:O'Dea was born...

, which resulted in the Willie O'Dea affidavit controversy

Willie O'Dea affidavit controversy

The Willie O'Dea affidavit controversy or Brothelgate refers to a 2010 political controversy in Ireland surrounding former Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea....

.

Personal life

He was born in Ballynanty

Ballynanty

Ballynanty, or Ballynanty Beg, is one of the older neighbourhoods on the north side of Limerick City in the province of Munster, in the midwest of Ireland...

 in Limerick

Limerick

Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...

 city where he resides with his wife. His brother Nessan Quinlivan

Nessan Quinlivan

Nessan Quinlivan , is a former Provisional IRA member who escaped from Brixton Prison in London on 7 July 1991 along with his cellmate Pearse McAuley, while awaiting trial on charges relating to a suspected IRA plot to assassinate a former brewery company chairman, Sir Charles Tidbury.In April...

, was a former Provisional IRA

Provisional Irish Republican Army

The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...

 volunteer

Volunteer (Irish republican)

Volunteer, often abbreviated Vol., is a term used by a number of Irish republican paramilitary organisations to describe their members. Among these have been the various forms of the Irish Republican Army and the Irish National Liberation Army...

.

Political career

He previously ran unsuccessfully as a Sinn Féin candidate at the 2004 local elections for Limerick City Council and for Limerick East at the 2007 general election. He was elected to Limerick City Council in 2009.

During the local election campaign Willie O'Dea gave an interview to the Limerick Leader

Limerick Leader

The Limerick Leader is a weekly local newspaper in Limerick, Ireland. It was founded in 1889. The newspaper is headquartered on O'Connell Street....

. In response to criticism about the use of Department of Defence

Department of Defence (Ireland)

The Department of Defence is the department of the Government of Ireland that is responsible for preserving peace and security in Ireland and abroad...

 resources for constituency work, O'Dea attacked Quinlivan and claimed that Quinlivan was running a brothel.

Quinlivan responded by launching a High Court defamation challenge against O'Dea. As part of his defence O'Dea swore under oath an affidavit

Affidavit

An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...

 that he had not made this remark. He was forced to retract his denial after the release of a recording of the conversation in which the allegations were made by O'Dea. The case was subsequently settled out of court with O'Dea paying an undisclosed sum in damages and apologising for the remarks. However O'Dea was forced to resign as Minister for Defence

Minister for Defence (Ireland)

The Minister for Defence is the senior minister at the Department of Defence in the Government of Ireland. Under new arrangements this department is being merged with the Department of Justice over which Mr. Shatter will also preside....

 over accusations that he had committed perjury.

He was a candidate in the Limerick City

Limerick City (Dáil Éireann constituency)

Limerick City is a parliamentary constituency in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 4 deputies...

 constituency at the 2011 general election. He received 8.6% of the first preference votes, coming fifth in the four seat constituency, but was not elected.