James Lawless – View from the Tracks

James lives in Sallins, Co. Kildare with his wife Ailish and their two daughters. They also share their home with a hamster, a dog, a cat and a goldfish.

James studied at Trinity College from where he has a primary degree in pure mathematics and a masters degree in high performance computing (thesis financial modeling in US bond markets). James has always been strong academically and received first class honours in his final exams, also in his masters thesis, and almost maximum points in his Leaving Certificate.

Whilst he has held casual jobs ranging from ghost-train attendant to potato-peeler, his professional career has been largely within IT. Currently he is employed as a development lead working on Java / Spring technology projects within the Irish health insurance industry.

James has been active politically since school days (where he brokered an FF/FG coalition to revive the flagging CBS student magazine!) and onto college days when he was involved in Trinity students union. More recently James ran for local elections in the Naas area, Kildare county council as a candidate for Fianna Fáil. Despite a record low for the party, James polled respectably for a first time candidate achieving half a quota on the first count. James would be economically centrist whilst being more conservative on social issues. Public transport, animal welfare, sustainable planning and Northern Ireland are other key policy interests.  James is also a fan of Europe and involved in both Lisbon ‘Yes’ campaigns.

In his spare time James likes to write (hence the blog), read (history/politics, horror/thriller), enjoys fishing for perch on the canal and trout on the Liffey, the occasional round of golf or bringing his kids and their dog for a walk through the great outdoors. James is also an avid supporter of Gaelic games and is involved locally with Sallins GAA.

Other local involvements include Sallins Community Games, Naas & Sallins Rail Users Group, Naas Toastmasters, Bodenstown Golf Club, Sallins Fianna Fáil and Sallins Pier Residents Association.

An earlier biographical entry is also available here.