Mícheál Mac Donncha facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cllr Mícheál Mac Donncha
Mac Donnacha in 2024
Dublin City Councillor
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 October 2011
Constituency	Donaghmede
Lord Mayor of Dublin
In office 5 June 2017 – 6 June 2018
Preceded by	Brendan Carr
Succeeded by	Nial Ring
Personal details
Born	Michael McConkey c. 1965 Donaghmede, Dublin, Ireland
Political party	Sinn Féin
Alma mater	University College Dublin

Mícheál Mac Donncha (born Michael McConkey) is an Irish politician for the Sinn Féin party. He has served on the Dublin City Council since 2011. From 2017 to 2018, he held the special role of Lord Mayor of Dublin.

Before his political career, Mac Donncha was a child actor. He appeared in the 1976 movie The Last Remake of Beau Geste, where he played a younger version of the famous actor Marty Feldman.

Political Career

Mac Donncha has been involved in Irish politics for many years. He worked as the editor of a newspaper called An Phoblacht from 1990 to 1996. Later, he worked as an assistant to another Sinn Féin politician, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, from 1997 to 2014. He also wrote a book about the history of his party called A Century of Struggle, which was published in 2005.

Dublin City Council

Mac Donnacha as Lord Mayor of Dublin in 2017.

In 2011, Mac Donncha joined the Dublin City Council. He was chosen to take the place of another council member who had resigned. In 2014, he was officially elected by voters in the Beaumont-Donaghmede area of Dublin.

In 2016, he ran for a seat in the Oireachtas (the Irish parliament) but was not elected. His running mate from the same party, Denise Mitchell, won a seat.

Lord Mayor of Dublin

One of the biggest moments in his career was becoming the Lord Mayor of Dublin in June 2017. This is a very important and historic position in the city. He served as Lord Mayor for one year.

A Case of Mistaken Identity

In April 2018, while he was Lord Mayor, Mac Donncha planned to travel to a conference in Ramallah, Palestine. Before his trip, the country of Israel said he would not be allowed to enter.

However, he was able to get into the country and travel to the conference. It turned out there was a funny mix-up. Israeli officials had seen his title written in the Irish language, Ardmhéara Mícheál Mac Donncha, and thought "Ardmhéara" was part of his name. But Ardmhéara is just the Irish word for Lord Mayor.