Sean McEniff

{{short description|Irish businessman and politician}}

{{Use Irish English|date=February 2021}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Sean McEniff

| image =

| office = Donegal County Councillor

| term_start = 28 June 1967

| term_end = 21 April 2017

| constituency = Donegal

| birth_date = {{birth date|1936|1|12|df=y}}

| birth_place = Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland

| death_date = {{death date and age|2017|4|21|1936|1|12|df=y}}

| death_place = Dublin, Ireland

| party = Fianna Fáil

| alma_mater =

|}}

Sean McEniff (12 January 1936 – 21 April 2017){{cite news|first=Michael|last=Daly|url=http://www.donegaldemocrat.ie/news/donegal-news/the-donegal-electoral-area-independents-to-the-fore-1-6080360|title=The Donegal Electoral Area Independents to the fore|work=Donegal Democrat|date=24 May 2014|accessdate=24 May 2014|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150309183638/http://www.donegaldemocrat.ie/news/donegal-news/the-donegal-electoral-area-independents-to-the-fore-1-6080360|archivedate=9 March 2015}} was an Irish businessman and Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Donegal County Councillor for the Donegal local electoral Area.{{cite news|url=http://www.donegalcoco.ie/council/members/|title=Donegal Electoral Area|work=Donegal County Council|accessdate=21 April 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425003853/http://www.donegalcoco.ie/council/members|archivedate=25 April 2013}}{{cite news|url=http://www.fiannafail.ie/people/sean-mceniff/|title=Sean McEniff|work=Fianna Fáil|accessdate=21 April 2013}} At the time of his death in 2017, he was the longest serving councillor in Ireland.

He was first elected to Donegal County Council in 1967 and was returned every time until the final election before his death, with the exception of 1979 when he stood in the 1979 European Parliament election in the Connacht–Ulster, though was not elected.{{cite web|url=http://electionsireland.com/candidate.php?candid=4522|work=ElectionsIreland.com|title=ElectionsIreland|accessdate=6 July 2016}} In 1985, McEniff was featured in an edition of Today Tonight entitled "Law and Order in Donegal".{{cite news|url=https://villagemagazine.ie/index.php/2017/11/boiling-over/|title=Boiling Over|work=Village|date=21 November 2017|accessdate=26 November 2019|archive-date=28 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128201917/https://villagemagazine.ie/index.php/2017/11/boiling-over/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSshuss3yOU|title=Law and Order in Donegal - Today Tonight 1985|work=Today Tonight (RTÉ)|accessdate=27 November 2019}} He was Director of Bord Fáilte between 1993 and 1998. He was also named Donegal Person of the Year in 1996.{{cite news|url=http://www.thejournal.ie/fianna-fail-councillor-sean-mceniff-traveller-comments-758655-Jan2013/|title=FF councillor criticised for anti-Traveller comments: "You wouldn't want them beside you and I don't want them beside me," Fianna Fáil councillor Sean McEniff told a local radio station in Donegal|date=17 February 2013|work=TheJournal.ie|accessdate=17 February 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150309184918/http://www.thejournal.ie/fianna-fail-councillor-sean-mceniff-traveller-comments-758655-Jan2013/|archivedate=9 March 2015}}

McEniff was the owner of the Tyrconnell Group, an Irish hotel chain. In 2007, Tyrconnell merged with the Brian McEniff Hotel Group, owned by his brother, Brian McEniff, to form McEniff Hotels.{{cite news|title=Jurys Doyle sells two hotels to McEniff Group|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2002/0701/27191-jurys/|accessdate=24 April 2017|work=RTE.ie|date=1 July 2002|language=en}} The Dublin branch of McEniff's hotel chain was picketed by protesters in 2013, after he made comments about Irish Travellers.{{cite news|url=http://www.indymedia.ie/article/103291|title=Picket against Fianna Fáil Councillor Sean McEniff|date=15 February 2013|accessdate=15 February 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150309183758/http://www.indymedia.ie/article/103291|archivedate=9 March 2015}}{{cite news|title=FF councillor criticised for anti-Traveller comments|url=http://www.thejournal.ie/fianna-fail-councillor-sean-mceniff-traveller-comments-758655-Jan2013/|accessdate=24 April 2017|work=The Journal|date=27 January 2013}}{{cite news|url=http://soviet.ie/index.php?/topic/2669-picket-of-cllr-sean-mceniffs-hotel-dublin-public-%C2%B7-by-afa-ireland/|title=Picket of Cllr. Sean McEniff's Hotel (Dublin)|date=14 February 2013|accessdate=14 February 2013|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130702091540/http://soviet.ie/index.php?/topic/2669-picket-of-cllr-sean-mceniffs-hotel-dublin-public-%C2%B7-by-afa-ireland/|archivedate=2 July 2013|url-status=dead}} In 2009, he backed a controversial proposal by the Mayor of Donegal to erect a memorial to Louis Mountbatten and the victims of the bombing at Mullaghmore.{{cite news|url=https://www.derryjournal.com/news/councillors-divided-on-mountbatten-memorial-1-2140140|title=Councillors divided on Mountbatten memorial|work=Derry Journal|date=27 August 2009|accessdate=27 November 2019}}

In 2016, McEniff issued a public statement through his solicitors in which he denied using his political influence to prevent Gardaí investigating the disappearance of Mary Boyle from questioning a suspect.{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/sean-mceniff-says-he-is-not-politician-linked-to-mary-boyle-case-1.2726024|title=Sean McEniff says he is not politician linked to Mary Boyle case|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=18 July 2016|accessdate=26 November 2019}}

McEniff died at the Mater Private Hospital in Dublin on 21 April 2017.{{cite news|first=Cathal|last=McMahon|url=http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/irelands-longest-serving-councillor-dies-in-hospital-six-months-after-holiday-accident-35643327.html|title=Ireland's longest serving councillor dies in hospital, six months after holiday accident|newspaper=Irish Independent|date=21 April 2017}}{{cite news|url=http://www.donegaldemocrat.ie/news/home/246265/sadness-around-donegal-as-sean-mceniff-s-life-and-times-are-recalled.html|title=Sadness around Donegal as Sean McEniff's life and times are recalled|work=Donegal Democrat|date=21 April 2017}} He had been in an induced coma after collapsing into water whilst on holiday in Puerto Rico de Gran Canaria in October 2016.{{cite news|first=Seamus|last=McKinney|url=http://www.irishnews.com/news/republicofirelandnews/2016/11/04/news/veteran-donegal-politician-sean-mceniff-in-induced-coma--769117/|title=Veteran Donegal politician Sean McEniff 'in induced coma' after holiday accident|work=The Irish News|date=4 November 2016}}