Thomas Gildea (born September 1939) is an Irish former politician who was elected as an independent Teachta Dála (TD) at the 1997 general election. A farmer representing Donegal South-West, he won popular local support for his ultimately successful campaign to legalise 'deflectors' which re-transmitted British television channels in rural areas, but which had been shut down in the wake of legal action by cable and MMDS operators. He supported the Fianna Fáil–Progressive Democrats minority coalition government from 1997 to 2002. Gildea himself operated a deflector system in Donegal. In the 1999 local elections, he was elected as a member of Donegal County Council for Glenties. He did not contest the 2002 general election and retired from politics at the 2004 local elections. He was later Chairman of the National Community Television Association. In July 2000, he married Eilish Hegarty. They have one child.