Joseph McLoughlin was an Irish

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 Fine Gael

Fine Gael

Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...

 politician. A farmer before entering politics, he was first elected to Dáil Éireann

Dáil Éireann

Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...

 for the Sligo-Leitrim

Sligo-Leitrim (Dáil Éireann constituency)

Sligo–Leitrim was a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas from 1948 to 2007...

 constituency at the 1961 by-election following the death of the Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...

 Teachta Dála

Teachta Dála

A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...

 (TD) Stephen Flynn

Stephen Flynn

Stephen Flynn was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála at the 1932 general election for the Leitrim–Sligo constituency. He was re-elected at every subsequent general election up to 1957...

. He was re-elected at each subsequent general election until he lost his seat at the 1977 general election

Irish general election, 1977

The Irish general election of 1977 was held on 16 June 1977 and is regarded as a pivotal point in twentieth century Irish politics. The general election took place in 42 parliamentary constituencies throughout Ireland for 148 seats in the lower house of parliament, Dáil Éireann. The number of...

.

His nephew Tony McLoughlin

Tony McLoughlin

Tony McLoughlin is an Irish Fine Gael politician. He was elected as a Teachta Dála for the Sligo–North Leitrim constituency at the 2011 general election. He was elected to Sligo County Council in the mid-1970s and was subsequently elected to Sligo Borough Council...

 was elected as a Fine Gael TD for Sligo–North Leitrim at the 2011 general election.