Claim: Paul Connaughton Snr, born in 1944, belongs to the Fine Gael party (a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland) but never held political office.
Evidence: Paul Connaughton Snr (born 6 June 1944) is a former Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Minister of State for Land Structure and Development from 1982 to 1987. Fine Gael (/ˌfiːnə ˈɡeɪl, ˌfɪn-/, Irish: [ˌfʲɪnʲə ˈɡeːl̪ˠ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish"), officially Fine Gael (United Ireland), is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. 
He was elected to Seanad Éireann as a Senator for the Agricultural Panel in 1977.