THOMAS Gildea (57) is a bachelor farmer and a native Irish-speaker from an area known as the Gaeltacht Lair, or Donegal's central Gaeltacht area.
He was born in Glenties on the day Germany invaded Poland and the second World War began, but his life has been largely free of the turmoil which swept Europe at that time.
Mr Gildea has lived all his life near Glenties and farms a small moorland holding about two miles outside the town. For the past 22 years he has supplemented his modest income by working as a farm manager with St Columba's Comprehensive School in Glenties. Since his election, however, he has taken leave of absence from his part-time job.
A keen trout and salmon angler and an avid reader, Mr Gildea is chairman of three local groups, Glenties Community Television Co-operative, Glenties Anglers' Association and Glenties-Edeninfreagh Parish Council. His involvement with the local TV deflector campaign stems from his participation in a range of community groups over the years.
These include Cumann Traenach na Gaeltachta Lair, an association of railway enthusiasts who are restoring the narrow gauge railway between Glenties and Fintown. So far three miles of track have been restored and a train runs on the line as a tourist attraction.
Mr Gildea has never been a member of any political party and has no political affiliations. "I just go along on election day and vote for whoever I think would work best for my community," he says.
He supports the co-operative movement and is a "firm believer" in local communities helping themselves. "That's why I'm opposed to MMDS, because it is an attack by big business on rural communities who are working in their own interests."