Michael O'Leary(8 May 1936 – 11 May 2006) was an Irish judge, politician and barrister who served as a Judge of theDistrict Courtfrom 1997 to 2006,TánaisteandMinister for Energyfrom 1981 to 1982,Leader of the Labour Partyfrom 1981 to 1982 andMinister for Labourfrom 1973 to 1977. He served as aTeachta Dála(TD) from 1965 to 1987.[1]He was aMember of the European Parliament(MEP) from 1979 to 1981.
Michael O'Leary | |
|---|---|
 O'Leary in 1979 | |
| Judge of theDistrict Court | |
| In office 20 March 1997 – 1 May 2006 | |
| Nominated by | Government of Ireland |
| Appointed by | Mary Robinson |
| Tánaiste | |
| In office 30 June 1981 – 9 March 1982 | |
| Taoiseach | Garret FitzGerald |
| Preceded by | George Colley |
| Succeeded by | Ray MacSharry |
| Leader of the Labour Party | |
| In office 17 June 1981 – 1 November 1982 | |
| Preceded by | Frank Cluskey |
| Succeeded by | Dick Spring |
| Minister for Energy | |
| In office 30 June 1981 – 9 March 1982 | |
| Taoiseach | Garret FitzGerald |
| Preceded by | George Colley |
| Succeeded by | Albert Reynolds |
| Minister for Labour | |
| In office 14 March 1973 – 5 July 1977 | |
| Taoiseach | Liam Cosgrave |
| Preceded by | Joseph Brennan |
| Succeeded by | Gene Fitzgerald |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office November 1982–February 1987 | |
| Constituency | Dublin South-West |
| In office June 1981–November 1982 | |
| Constituency | Dublin Central |
| In office April 1965–June 1981 | |
| Constituency | Dublin North-Central |
| Member of the European Parliament | |
| In office 1 July 1979 – 1 July 1981 | |
| Constituency | Dublin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 May 1936 Cork,Ireland |
| Died | 11 May 2006(aged 70) Saint-Sever-de-Rustan,France |
| Resting place | Saint-Sever Abbey,Landes,France |
| Political party | Fine Gael |
| Other political affiliations | Labour Party(until 1982) |
| Spouse |
Mary O'Leary (m.1965) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Presentation Brothers College, Cork |
| Alma mater | |
He resigned from theLabour Partyin 1982 to joinFine Gael.
Early life
editO'Leary was born inCorkin 1936,[2]the son of apublican.He was educated atPresentation College,University College Cork,Columbia University,andKing's Inns.On returning to Ireland, he became involved in the Labour Party and was employed as Education Officer for theIrish Transport and General Workers' Union(ITGWU). In this role he was instrumental in establishing the Universities Branch, affiliated toDublin North-Centralconstituency, bringing together Labour Party students of the Dublin University Fabian Society inTrinity College Dublinand ofUniversity College Dublin.
Political career
editO'Leary was first elected toDáil Éireannas a Labour PartyTDforDublin North-Centralat the1965 general election.[3]His agent was Bob Mitchell, Chairman of Dublin University Fabian Society, who could claim credit in a dirty campaign for picking up transfers to squeeze out the Labour Party front-runner on the 11th recount.
When he was first elected to the Dáil, O'Leary encouraged the Labour Party to take a more left-wing stance in its policies. He was initially strongly opposed to the idea of acoalitionwithFine Gael,but following the1969 general electionhe believed that there was a need for a new approach. When the Labour Party andFine Gaelformed theNational Coalition governmentfollowing the1973 general electionhe was appointedMinister for Labour.
In 1977, he was narrowly defeated byFrank Cluskeyfor the leadership of the party. O'Leary was elected to theEuropean Parliamentfor theDublinconstituency in 1979.
Cluskey resigned as Labour Party leader when he lost his Dáil seat at the1981 general electionand O'Leary was elected unanimously to succeed him. In the short-livedFine Gael–Labour Party governmentof 1981 to 1982, O'Leary becameTánaisteandMinister for Energy.After the government's defeat at theFebruary 1982 general electionhe remained leader until he suddenly resigned both the leadership and his party membership on 28 October, in the aftermath of a party conference vote on a potential coalition withFine Gael.[4]On 3 November he joined Fine Gael.[5][6]At theNovember 1982 general election,he was elected a Fine Gael TD in theDublin South-Westconstituency. After the election, a newFine Gael–Labour governmentwas formed, but O'Leary was kept out of cabinet office by his former Labour colleagues.
In 1985, O'Leary introduced aprivate member's billon divorce which preceded the government's own1986 divorce referendum.
When theProgressive Democratswere formed in 1985 he considered joining, but remained with Fine Gael.
He did not contest the1987 general electionand afterwards he moved back to Cork and practised as a barrister. He was elected as a Fine Gael member ofCork City Councilat the1991 local elections.He unsuccessfully contested the1992 general electioninCork North-Centraland received about 2% of the valid poll.[7]
He was appointed aDistrict Courtjudge in 1997 by the Fine Gael–Labour Party–Democratic Leftcoalition government.
Death
editO'Leary died in France in May 2006, following a drowning accident in a swimming pool.[7]He was on holiday, having retired as a judge just days earlier.
References
edit- ^"Michael O'Leary".Oireachtas Members Database.25 November 1986.Archivedfrom the original on 19 July 2019.Retrieved25 October2012.
- ^Maume, Patrick."O'Leary, Michael".Dictionary of Irish Biography.Retrieved2 February2023.
- ^"Michael O'Leary".ElectionsIreland.org.Archivedfrom the original on 25 September 2012.Retrieved25 October2012.
- ^Walsh, Dick (29 October 1982)."O'Leary gives up leadership and party".The Irish Times.Retrieved28 August2022.
- ^"Joint statement by Dr Garret FitzGerald, TD, and Mr Michael O'Leary, TD".The Irish Times.3 November 1982.Retrieved28 August2022.
- ^"O'Leary welcomed as member of Fine Gael".The Irish Times.4 November 1982.Retrieved28 August2022.
- ^ab"Former Tánaiste Michael O'Leary dies in France".RTÉ News.12 May 2006.Archivedfrom the original on 17 February 2012.Retrieved12 May2006.
External links
edit- Personal profile of Michael O'Learyin theEuropean Parliament's database of members