Marc MacSharry, the outspoken TD who left Fianna Fáil last year, has announced he will quit politics at the next election.
The Sligo MP, who left the party after an internal row, was a staunch critic of party leader Michelle Martin and had resigned from the parliamentary party a year earlier.
Observers were surprised when Mr MacSharry, whose father Ray was finance minister in the 1980s and a towering figure in the party at the time, left Fianna Fáil altogether. Since then he has been an isolated figure in Leinster House.
A sometimes controversial figure, Mr MacSharry was first elected to the Seanad in 2002 and took a Dáil seat in 2016, winning re-election in 2020.
In the Seanad he spent time as a representative on issues such as shipping, finance, health and public expenditure, while in the Dáil he was a representative on transport and tourism.
His greatest impact on national politics came as a member of the committee that held an inquiry into the banking crisis and later as a member of the Public Accounts Committee. But any ambitions he had to serve as a minister were thwarted.
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He was popular with his colleagues, but was seen as a loose cannon. He would describe himself as “honest” and his frustration with Mr Martin’s leadership was well known.
He recently completed his Masters at the University of Ulster and is expected to pursue a career in the private sector after the next election.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Mr MacSharry said: “It has been a great privilege to serve in the Oireachtas since 2002. I am eternally grateful to everyone for the opportunity to serve as a TD and Senator for more than 21 years.
“I would like to thank everyone for their support and help. I look forward to continuing to work on behalf of the people of Sligo, Leitrim, South Donegal and North Roscommon between now and the end of this administration. All these years I have worked to the best of my ability and now I feel it is the right time to open a new chapter in my life and pursue alternative opportunities. “