Sean Farren

Sean Farren
Sean Farren
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly; for Antrim North
	In office; 25 June 1998 – 7 March 2007
Preceded by	New Creation
Succeeded by	Declan O'Loan
	In office; 20 October 1982 – 1986
Preceded by	Assembly re-established
Succeeded by	Assembly abolished
Northern Ireland Forum Member ; for North Antrim
	In office; 30 May 1996 – 25 April 1998
Preceded by	New forum
Succeeded by	Forum dissolved
Personal details
Born	6 September 1939 (age 85); Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Political party	SDLP
Alma mater	University College Dublin ; University of Essex ; University of Ulster

Sean Nial Farren (born 6 September 1939) is an Irish Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician and academic who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for North Antrim from 1998 to 2007.

Academic career

Farren studied at the National University of Ireland, University College Dublin (BA), University of Essex (MA) and the University of Ulster (PhD). He worked as a teacher in Dublin, Switzerland and Sierra Leone before becoming a lecturer at the University of Ulster.

Since 2008 he has been a visiting professor in the School of Education at Ulster University. He has also been involved in a number of projects aimed at strengthening democratic institutions in the Middle East, North Africa, West and East Africa.

He is currently a member of the Governing Authority of Dublin City University, a Trustee of Concern Worldwide (UK), a member of the Standing Committee of the Development Studies Association of Ireland (DSAI) and a committee member of the Sierra Leone Ireland Partnership (SLIP).

Political career

Farren contested the Westminster seat of North Antrim as a member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) at the 1979 general election, and stood at each subsequent general election until 2005.

In 1982, Farren was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in North Antrim. In line with SDLP policy, he instead sat on the New Ireland Forum (1983–4).

Farren was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996, again for North Antrim, and held this seat in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998 and 2003, before standing down at the 2007 election.

Personal

He is married to Patricia Clarke. They have four children. He and Patricia live in Portstewart, County Londonderry.

Publications

He has authored, co-authored or edited four books:

The Politics of Irish Education (1995)
SDLP – the Struggle for Agreement in Northern Ireland (2010), with Robert Mulvihill
Paths to a Settlement in Northern Ireland (2000)
John Hume: Irish Peacemaker (2015) with Denis Haughey.

He has written many book chapters, peer reviewed and other articles. He also wrote the paper Sunningdale: An Agreement Too Soon?^[1], in which the circumstances behind the agreement and the elements that caused its collapse are examined.

References

^ Farren, Sean (2007). "Sunningdale: an agreement too soon?". University College Dublin. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016.

Northern Ireland Assembly (1982)
New assembly	MPA for North Antrim 1982–1986	Assembly abolished
Northern Ireland Forum
New forum	Member for North Antrim 1996–1998	Forum dissolved
Northern Ireland Assembly
New assembly	MLA for Antrim North 1998–2007	Succeeded by Declan O'Loan
Political offices
New office	Minister of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment 1999–2000	Vacant Office suspended Title next held by self
Vacant Office suspended Title last held by self	Minister of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment^[1] 2000–2001	Succeeded by Carmel Hanna
Preceded by Mark Durkan	Minister of Finance and Personnel 2001–2002	Vacant Office suspended Title next held by Peter Robinson
Party political offices
Preceded by Bríd Rodgers	Chairperson of the Social Democratic and Labour Party 1980–1984	Succeeded by Alban Maginness