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Patrick Kennedy (3 September 1942 – 3 May 1999) was aNorthern Irishpolitician.

Kennedy joined theRepublican Labour Party (RLP) and was elected toBelfast City Council in 1967. He became involved in thecivil rights protests and was a founder member of theNorthern Ireland Civil Rights Association, and joined the Central Citizens Defence Committee. In the1969 Northern Ireland general election, Kennedy was elected forBelfast Central.^{[citation needed]}

In August 1969, duringintensive rioting in his constituency, he tried, without success, to get theRoyal Ulster Constabulary to withdraw the armoured cars and heavy machine guns they were using against the rioters. After the rioting, in which Catholic residents of mixed areas in Belfast were burned out, Defence Committees were formed to defend nationalist areas. In September 1969, Kennedy was theFalls Road Citizens Defence Committee's delegate in talks withJames Callaghan.^{[citation needed]}

In 1970, RLP leaderGerry Fitt left to help establish theSocial Democratic and Labour Party. Kennedy was elected as the new leader of the RLP. The following year, he held a press conference in Belfast where he introducedJoe Cahill, a leading figure in theProvisional IRA, intending that this would show the ineffectiveness ofinternment. While successful as a media event, appearing with the IRA led many constitutionalnationalist politicians to refuse to work with him.^{[citation needed]}

In 1971, he withdrew fromStormont, which was suspended the following year. He stood unsuccessfully inBelfast West as a candidate for theNorthern Ireland Assembly in 1973. As both he andHarry Diamond, the other RLP candidate, were defeated, it was decided to wind up the party. In the late 1970s, Kennedy moved toDublin, where he trained as abarrister before becoming a planning consultant.^[1]

Kennedy died on 3 May 1999, aged 56.^[1][2]

• Boothroyd, David."Biographies of Members of the Northern Ireland House of Commons: Patrick Kennedy". Northern Ireland House of Commons Election Results.Archived from the original on 16 July 2013.
• Eamonn McCann (3 May 1999)."Obituary: Paddy Kennedy".The Guardian.Archived from the original on 15 July 2014.

• 1942 births
• 1999 deaths
• Leaders of political parties in Northern Ireland
• Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1969–1973
• Politicians from Belfast
• Republican Labour Party members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland
• Deaths from cancer in the Republic of Ireland
• Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for Belfast constituencies

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