Finian McGrath (born 9 April 1953) is an Irish former Independent politician who served as Minister of State for Disability Issues from 2016 to 2020. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 2002 to 2020. Early and personal life Born in Tuam, County Galway, in 1953. He was educated at University College Dublin. He went on to become a primary school principal at Scoil Plás Mhuire for Boys in Dublin, before entering politics. He had two daughters with his wife Anne, who died in November 2009. McGrath was a contestant on the You're a Star charity special in summer 2005, where he came in second. He released a charity single in December 2005, which featured the Christmas song "Angels We Have Heard on High" and the classic "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown". All proceeds from the sales of this single were donated to Down syndrome Ireland. Political career He was an unsuccessful candidate in the Dublin North-Central constituency at the 1992 and 1997 general elections. He was elected to Dublin City Council in 1999, with the second-highest vote in the Clontarf local electoral area. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 2002 general election, where he stood as an Independent Health Alliance candidate in the Dublin North-Central constituency. He joined the technical group, established to ensure Dáil speaking time for Independent TDs. In March 2003, due to being a dual mandate TD, he gave up his Dublin City Council seat to Ger Drogan, who later was replaced by Fintan Cassidy, who failed to get elected in the subsequent 2004 local elections. McGrath was re-elected to the 30th Dáil at the 2007 general election, confounding predictions that he would lose due to the loss of a seat from the constituency. He garnered a large number of transfers from the Sinn Féin and Labour Party candidates. As an Independent member of the 30th Dáil, McGrath pledged his support for the new government formed in June 2007. In so doing, he secured a deal with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, which he made public by entering it in the Dáil record. This public announcement was hailed by many observers who had criticised other Independent TDs such as Michael Lowry and Jackie Healy-Rae for keeping similar deals secret. On 20 October 2008, following the 2009 Budget, McGrath withdrew his support for the government in protest at the abolition of an automatic medical card for