Pat McFadden, son of Donegal emigrants, gets Cabinet role in British government

A Glasgow-born son of Donegal emigrants has been appointed to a senior role in the Cabinet of the new British government.

Pat McFadden was appointed as the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster by the new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.

The 59-year-old McFadden, an MP for Wolverhampton South East, is credited by many as being the “mastermind” behind Labour's landslide election victory.

He was once described by The Guardian as: “The most powerful Labour politician most have never heard of”.

His parents, Jimmy Den McFadden and Annie (Cooper) Gallagher were originally from Dunmore, a townland out the Muckish Road about two miles from Falcarragh.

His father worked as a labourer and his mother in a local authority children’s home.

McFadden was born in Scotland in 1965 and has always retained a close affinity to Donegal.

In the aftermath of the Creeslough explosion in 2022, he paid tribute to the ten people killed when he spoke in the Parliament.

He told how he takes his own children to Donegal and wants “Donegal to be a part of their upbringing”.

He became a researcher in 1988 for Donald Dewar MP, then Labour's Scottish affairs spokesman before leaving in 1993 to become a speech writer and policy adviser to the Labour leader John Smith.

He gained valuable experience before becoming an adviser to Tony Blair, both in opposition and later in 10 Downing Street.

In October 2014, Pat was appointed Labour’s shadow minister for Europe, a position he held until January 2016.

Following the election of Starmer as leader of the Labour party in 2020, McFadden was appointed to the Labour shadow front bench Treasury team.