Gormley, Patrick (‘Paddy’) Joseph (1916–2001), businessman and politician, was born 28 October 1916 in Carnanbane, Claudy, Co. Londonderry, fourth child among three sons and two daughters of Philip Gormley, businessman, of Carnanbane, and Mary Gormley (née Waters), seamstress, of Grange, Co. Sligo. He began his education at Kilgort primary school, Claudy, before attending St Columb's College, Derry, and Maynooth College, where he was a contemporary of Cardinal Cahal Daly. Although he held ambitions to be a teacher after graduating with a first–class honours BA, he opted instead to enter the family's seed-potato business.
His first entry into politics came with his election to Derry county council in 1945; he was to serve on this body for some twenty years. After the decision of the sitting nationalist MP for the constituency of Londonderry Mid, Eddie McAteer (qv), not to stand at the Stormont election of October 1953, Paddy Gormley sought and won the nomination. The election campaign saw divisive battles in a number of constituencies between abstentionists and those prepared to take their seats at Stormont. Gormley stressed his determination to take his seat to defend the interests of his community, and during the campaign he received the support of leading members of the Irish Anti-Partition League (an organistion founded in 1945 to unite nationalists) even though he had not been a member or supporter. In contrast his abstentionist opponent, Brendan Agnew, received help from a number of southern politicians including the leader of Clann na Poblachta and former minister for external affairs, Seán MacBride (qv). In a bitter struggle, which highlighted the deep divisions within northern nationalism, Gormley emerged as the winner with a majority of over 500 votes and took his seat at Stormont (1953–69).
Although a nationalist MP, he pursued an independent line, and the nature of the nationalist party – with no formal party organisation or structure – suited his individualistic approach. In February 1954 he was suspended from the chamber for holding up the Irish tricolour during a debate on the Flags and Emblems (Display) Bill, which proposed to outlaw the flying of the tricolour in Northern Ireland. Gormley took this action not to display his nationalist credentials but rather to highlight the futility of the whole exercise. Later in the mid-1960s he alleged the existence of a unionist group (whom he referred to as ‘the faceless men’) in Derry, actively working to ensure that their own city would not be chosen as the site of Northern Ireland's new university, on the grounds that such a development would ultimately benefit the nationalist community in Derry and in doing so challenge unionist control of the city.
Since entering politics Gormley had sought to base his political philosophy on the need for a practical and pragmatic approach rather than on one solely based on nationalist ideology. He and his brother Tom (qv), who became nationalist MP for Tyrone Mid in 1962, advocated a course of action which was not always to the liking of their party colleagues: they stressed the need for greater emphasis on formulating policy to tackle economic and social problems, for the party to organise itself more formally, and for steps to be taken to unite anti-unionist opinion within a broad left-of-centre coalition. On a practical level Paddy Gormley was closely involved in the establishment of the Northern Counties Cooperative Society in Swatragh, Co. Londonderry. He was also prepared to support the conciliatory style of Capt. Terence O'Neill (qv). Such calls frequently caused tension with other nationalist MPs; but his political career was curtailed by a near-fatal car crash outside Carrickmacross in November 1965, just after he had been returned unopposed for his Mid-Derry seat. Although he attempted to resume his parliamentary career early in 1966 and his role as deputy chairman of the ways and means committee (1965–7), after medical advice and the appeals of his family he withdrew from public life in February 1967 to recover his health. In the general election of February 1969 he stood again for Mid-Derry, but by this time figures from the civil rights movement had decided to enter politics and Gormley found himself opposed by one of the most prominent, Ivan Cooper, a leading activist from Derry. The mood of the nationalist electorate was moving towards those who had seemingly secured significant measures of reform, and away from the established political figures, and Gormley finished in third place behind Cooper and the unionist candidate.
After this defeat he never again stood for election, and withdrew completely from politics as he struggled to regain his health. He died in Templemoyle nursing home, Eglinton, Co. Londonderry, on 29 August 2001 and was survived by his wife Moire Gormley (née McGurk; m. December 1948) of Carnanbane, and sons Phil and Padraig and daughter Mary.