James Tully(18 September 1915 – 20 May 1992) was an IrishLabour Partypolitician andtrade unionist.He served asMinister for Defencefrom 1981 to 1982,Deputy leader of the Labour Partyfrom 1981 to 1982 andMinister for Local Governmentfrom 1973 to 1977. He served as aTeachta Dála(TD) for theMeathconstituency from 1954 to 1957 and 1961 to 1982.[1]
James Tully | |
|---|---|
| Minister for Defence | |
| In office 30 June 1981 – 9 March 1982 | |
| Taoiseach | Garret FitzGerald |
| Preceded by | Sylvester Barrett |
| Succeeded by | Paddy Power |
| Deputy leader of the Labour Party | |
| In office 17 June 1981 – 22 February 1982 | |
| Leader | Michael O'Leary |
| Preceded by | New office |
| Succeeded by | Barry Desmond |
| Minister for Local Government | |
| In office 14 March 1973 – 5 July 1977 | |
| Taoiseach | Liam Cosgrave |
| Preceded by | Bobby Molloy |
| Succeeded by | Sylvester Barrett |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office October 1961–February 1982 | |
| In office May 1954–March 1957 | |
| Constituency | Meath |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 September 1915 Kells,County Meath,Ireland |
| Died | 20 May 1992(aged 76) Navan,County Meath, Ireland |
| Political party | Labour Party |
| Spouse |
Mary O'Brien (m.1942) |
| Children | 5 |
| Education | St Patrick's Classical School |
A native ofCarlanstown,nearKellsinCounty Meath,Tully was educated in Carlanstown schools and inSt Patrick's Classical SchoolinNavan.[2]He was elected toDáil Éireannas a Labour PartyTDfor theMeathconstituency at the1954 general election.[3]He lost his seat at the1957 general election,but was re-elected at the1961 general electionand served until 1982. When Labour entered into a coalition government with Fine Gael in 1973, he was appointedMinister for Local Government.While serving in that post he gained prominence for a massive increase in the building of public housing, and notoriety for an attempt togerrymanderIrish constituencies to ensure the re-election of the National Coalition at the1977 general election.His electoral reorganisation effort via theElectoral (Amendment) Act 1974,which came to be called a "Tullymander", backfired spectacularly and helped engineer a landslide for the opposition,Fianna Fáil.[4]He was regarded as a conservative within the Labour Party, though tended to support party decisions, even if he disagreed with them. For many years he was opposed to coalition, though finding the years in opposition fruitless, he changed his mind and became increasingly in favour of coalition withFine Gael.[5]
Also as Minister for Local government, Tully decided on alterations to the plans for the controversial Dublin CorporationCivic Offices.[6]
Tully was appointed deputy leader of the Labour Party underMichael O'Learyin 1981, andMinister for Defencein the short-lived 1981–82 Fine Gael-Labour Party government. In that capacity he traveled toCairo,in 1981, as Ireland's representative inEgypt's annual 6 October military victory parade. While in the reviewing stand, next to PresidentAnwar Sadat,he suffered ashrapnelinjury to his face whenSadat was assassinatedby members ofEgyptian Islamic Jihadwho had infiltrated theEgyptian Army.
In 1982, a few months after the event, James Tully retired from politics. He died ten years later at the age of 76.
References
edit- ^"James Tully".Oireachtas Members Database.Archivedfrom the original on 7 November 2018.Retrieved1 September2012.
- ^Boyle, Denis."Tully, James".Dictionary of Irish Biography.Retrieved3 January2023.
- ^"James Tully".ElectionsIreland.org.Archivedfrom the original on 1 October 2012.Retrieved1 September2012.
- ^Lee, Joseph; Lee, Joseph L. (1989).Ireland, 1912–1985: politics and society by Joseph J. Lee.Cambridge University Press.ISBN9780521377416.Retrieved1 September2012.
- ^Horgan, John (1986).Labour: The Price of Power.Gill & Macmillan.
- ^"Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin Civic Offices".Dáil Éireann.7 February 1974.Archivedfrom the original on 4 April 2012.Retrieved2 March2011.