James Pat McDaid (born 1980s) is an Irish sportsman and politician. A Gaelic footballer, he has played for and captained the Glenswilly senior team. Born to James and Peggy (née McDermott of Termon), McDaid has four siblings: Barry, Nicola, Aisling and Mark. He grew up at Glenkeeragh, Glenswilly, attended Glenswilly National School and St Eunan's College in Letterkenny, then studied Sustainable Building Technology at Institute of Technology, Sligo. McDaid injured a cruciate ligament in his knee while playing in America in 2008 and had to have two cartilage operations on his bones.