Before entering politics, Nash was a public relations consultant to trade unions and the not-for-profit sector, running the PR firm McCormack Nash in Drogheda.[3] He also worked as the manager of the Upstate Theatre Project company in Drogheda,[3] as a teacher in St. Oliver's Community College in Drogheda[4] and as an advisor to Nessa Childers during her tenure in the European Parliament.[5]
Political career
Nash joined the Labour Party as a student in University College Dublin.[3] He is a former National Secretary of Labour Youth.[6] During the 2002 referendum on the Treaty of Nice, Nash was part of Drogheda Young Alliance for Yes, an interparty group which called for a "Yes" vote.[7]
Councillor and mayor of Drogheda (2000–2011)
Nash was co-opted onto Drogheda Borough Council in 2000 to replace retiring councillor Patsy Kirwan,[3] and served on the council until 2011. He was a member of Louth County Council for the local electoral area of Drogheda from 2002 to 2011,[8][9] serving as mayor of Drogheda from 2004 to 2005.[8][10]
Nash contested the 2007 general election in the Louth constituency but was not elected, receiving 2,739 votes (4.98% of the vote).[11]
While a Minister of State, Nash commissioned the first major independent study of zero and low-hour contracts in the Irish labour market. The research was carried out by the University of Limerick and published in November 2015.[18]
Seanad Éireann (2016–2020)
In April 2016, Nash was elected to Seanad Éireann on the Labour Panel. Party leader Brendan Howlin appointed him as Labour Party Spokesperson on Equality, and Labour Affairs and Workers Rights.[19] Nash is currently Labour's party spokesperson on finance.[20]
In 2018, Nash put forward a bill to issue an apology to men who had been convicted of homosexual offences prior to its decriminalisation in 1993. The motion received all-party support, and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar delivered an apology to the Dáil later that year.[21][22] Nash put forward a bill in 2019 which aimed to provide greater protection for low paid workers, reform Joint Labour Committees and give the Labour Court the ability to set rates of pay above the minimum wage in low paid sectors of the economy.[23]
Return to Dáil (2020–)
Nash was re-elected to the Dáil following the 2020 general election,[24] with Simon Carswell of The Irish Times attributing his election to "four years of local campaigning on issues such as fighting gangland crime and improving Drogheda’s water infrastructure".[17]
After Brendan Howlin announced his intention to step down as leader of the Labour Party, Nash was considered a potential candidate for the party leadership race.[25] However, he ruled himself out shortly afterwards, saying "There is a responsibility on my local Dáil colleagues and I to work night and day both locally and nationally to fix them. This is where my immediate focus must lie".[25] Nash nominated Aodhán Ó Ríordáin for the position of leader.[26]
Personal life
Nash is a director of Drogheda Youth Development, the Calipo Theatre and Picture Company, a Member of Board of the Droichead Arts Centre, a member of Drogheda Rotary Club and a former member of Louth VEC.[2]
Nash has Crohn's disease, which he was diagnosed with in 1990,[27] and has spoken about being bullied as a teenager for it.[13]