Profile: Maurice Quinlivan (SF)

A newly elected for Limerick city, Sinn Féin's Maurice Quinlivan took the second seat in his constituency and was elected ahead of finance minister Michael Noonan and Labour minister Jan O'Sullivan. A native of Ballynanty in Limerick City, Quinlivan is married to Sue Quinlivan. He was first elected to Limerick city Council in 2009 and was re-elected in 2014 when he topped the poll with almost 25 per cent of the vote. The 49-year-old is a brother of Nessan Quinlivan, a former Provisional IRA member who escaped from Brixton prison with his cellmate Pearse McAuley. In 1999, McCauley was convicted of the manslaughter of Det Garda Jerry McCabe. Quinlivan, who gained prominence for being libelled by Willie O'Dea, is a member of several groups dealing with drug abuse and is a director of the Midwest Regional Drug and Alcohol Forum.