Mick Wallace

For other people named Michael Wallace, see Michael Wallace (disambiguation).

Mick Wallace
Wallace in 2019
Member of the European Parliament
In office
2 July 2019 – 17 July 2024
ConstituencySouth
Teachta Dála
In office
February 2011 – July 2019
ConstituencyWexford
Personal details
Born
Michael Wallace

(1955-11-09) 9 November 1955 (age 69)[1]
Wexford, Ireland
Political party
Spouse
Mary Murphy
​
​
(m. 1979; div. 1992)​
Children4
Alma materUniversity College Dublin
Websitemickwallace.net

Michael Wallace (born 9 November 1955) is an Irish politician, former property developer and former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland for the South constituency from 2019 to 2024. He is a member of Independents 4 Change, part of The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wexford constituency from 2011 to 2019.[2][3]

Entering politics in 2011 following the post-2008 Irish economic downturn, Wallace was considered one of the most eccentric and unconventional figures in Irish politics.[4][5] Wallace gained a reputation for anti-establishment and left-wing populist views,[5][6] and became a frequent guest on the political debate show Tonight with Vincent Browne. In 2012, it emerged that during his time as a property developer, Wallace's company owed €2.1 million to the state in unpaid value-added taxes.[7][8][9][10][11][12]

Since 2012, Wallace has had a close political association with Clare Daly. As an MEP, Wallace has gained international attention for his foreign policy positions, describing himself as fighting "anti-Russia" and "anti-China" rhetoric. His views have been the subject of controversy and criticism in Europe, but have been promoted by state-controlled media in Russia, China, Iran, Syria, and other authoritarian states.[5][13][14][15][16][17]

  1. ^ "Mick Wallace: Biography". League of Ireland. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  2. ^ "Mick Wallace". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  3. ^ Keena, Colm (7 November 2016). "Bankruptcy move latest twist in Mick Wallace-Cerberus saga". The Irish Times. Dublin. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference In the News Podcast was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c Byrne, Elaine (April 2022). "Elaine Byrne: How the people's champions became tools of the Kremlin propaganda machine". Business Post. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  6. ^ McCarthy, Justine (9 December 2022). "Justine McCarthy: Wallace's sympathy for Iranian regime strips bare his faux radicalism". The Irish Times. Retrieved 9 December 2022. Personally likeable, he built an electoral appeal with his anti-establishment persona – trespassing in protest against US military use at Shannon Airport and making explosive revelations about Nama, the State's bad bank for developers. The publicity he reaped could be measured in newspaper column inches stretching all the way from Leinster House to Wexford and back again.
  7. ^ Heffernan, Breda (9 June 2012). "Wallace plans to address Dail on Tuesday". Irish Independent. Retrieved 7 July 2022. Mr Wallace is heading off to Poland for Euro 2012, despite the huge backlash against his false declaration of VAT and an unpaid €2.1m tax bill.
  8. ^ "Clare Daly resigns from the Socialist Party". RTÉ News. 1 September 2012. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  9. ^ "Profile: Clare Daly TD". The Phoenix. 2 May 2019. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  10. ^ Grant, Adrian (21 October 2021). "Column: Troubles over Mick Wallace follow a long line of left-wing splits". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 7 July 2022. The fallout from technical group member Mick Wallace's tax affairs has seen Clare Daly resign from the Socialist Party
  11. ^ McQuinn, Cormac (6 July 2021). "In focus: Mick Wallace - the boomtime builder whose fortunes were battered by economic crash". Irish Independent. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  12. ^ Ní Aodha, Gráinne (19 December 2019). "Can Mick Wallace still be a TD after being declared bankrupt today?". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Grimes, David Robert (17 March 2022). "Putin's Willing Disinformation Agents". Byline Times. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  15. ^ Bielenberg, Kim (4 February 2022). "Mick Wallace and Clare Daly — the 'anti-imperialists' who defended Putin". Irish Independent.
  16. ^ Loughlin, Elaine (8 March 2022). "Wallace and Daly fail to reflect the wishes of the people they represent". Irish Examiner.
  17. ^ Clifford, Michael (4 July 2021). "Michael Clifford: Mick Wallace is making a right show of himself". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 7 July 2022.