Fra McCann

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Fra McCann

| honorific-suffix =

| image = Fra McCann.jpg

| imagesize = 175px

| alt =

| caption =

| constituency_AM = West Belfast

| assembly = Northern Ireland

| majority =

| term_start = 26 November 2003

| term_end = November 2021

| predecessor = Alex Maskey

| successor = Aisling Reilly

| office1 = Member of
Belfast City Council

| constituency1 = Lower Falls

| term_start1 = 1987

| term_end1 = 5 May 2011

| predecessor1 = Will Glendinning

| successor1 = Colin Keenan

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1953|06|19|df=yes}} [http://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/mlas/details.aspx?&aff=2430&per=138&sel=1&ind=11&prv=0 Profile], niassembly.gov.uk; accessed 5 March 2017.

| birth_place = Belfast, Northern Ireland

| death_date =

| death_place =

| restingplace =

| birthname =

| nationality =

| party = Sinn Féin

| website = [https://web.archive.org/web/20100819121932/http://www.westbelfastsinnfein.com/representatives/8780 Fra McCann MLA]

}}

Fra McCann (born 19 June 1953) is a retired Irish Sinn Féin politician and former Republican prisoner.

McCann became active in the Irish republican movement and was imprisoned in the 1970s for membership of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and took part in the blanket protest while in prison.{{cite news | title = Sinn Féin MLA Fra McCann reveals prostate cancer diagnosis | author = Eimear McGovern | newspaper = Belfasttelegraph | url = https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/sinn-fein-mla-fra-mccann-reveals-prostate-cancer-diagnosis-38770945.html | access-date = 12 February 2020 | date = 10 December 2019}}

As a politician, he was a Belfast City Councillor for the

Lower Falls DEA from 1987 to 2011.

He latterly served as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belfast West from 2003 to 2021.

Biography

McCann was imprisoned during the 1970s for firearms offences. While being held in H-Block 3 of the Maze, McCann befriended Kieran Nugent and participated in the blanket protest.[http://www.village.ie/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=206 Sinn Féin politicians], village.ie; accessed 5 March 2017.

In 1987, he was elected to Belfast City Council, having won a by-election, representing the Lower Falls District.[http://www.eoni.org.uk/lower_falls_by-election_22_october_1987.pdf 1987 by-election] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721203831/http://www.eoni.org.uk/lower_falls_by-election_22_october_1987.pdf |date=21 July 2011 }}

He was re-elected to the council in 1989, 1993, 1997 and 2001.

McCann was later elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly, representing West Belfast, at the 2003 election.

In June 2006, McCann was charged with assault and disorderly behaviour following an incident in west Belfast. The incident occurred as the PSNI attempted to arrest a teenager for attempted robbery. However, McCann claimed heavy-handedness by the police and stated "I tried to put myself between one of the officers and the girl when the police officer radioed for assistance." McCann was released on bail.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/5158106.stm Report of McCann's arrest in June 2006], bbc.co.uk; accessed 5 March 2017.

[http://www.sluggerotoole.com/index.php/weblog/comments/the_wrong_sort_of_involvement_in_policing The wrong sort of involvement in policing], sluggerotoole.com; accessed 5 March 2017.

He retained his Assembly seat in 2007, 2011 and 2017.[http://www.sinnfeinonline.com/representatives/372 Fra McCann MLA West Belfast] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070630230712/http://www.sinnfeinonline.com/representatives/372 |date=30 June 2007 }}, sinnfeinonline.com; accessed 5 March 2017.

In October 2021, Fra McCann announced that he would be stepping down as MLA for West Belfast and would not be contesting the next election.{{Cite web|last=Hughes|first=Brendan|date=2021-10-11|title=Sinn Féin MLA to step down from NI Assembly due to ill health|url=https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/sinn-fein-west-belfast-mla-21819721|access-date=2021-11-08|website=BelfastLive|language=en}}