Mary O'Rourke

This article is about the politician. For the English barrister, seeMary O'Rourke (barrister).For the boy soprano singer, seeMary O'Rourke (singer).

Mary O'Rourke
Leader of the Seanad
In office 1 September 2002 – 25 July 2007
Taoiseach	Bertie Ahern
Preceded by	Donie Cassidy
Succeeded by	Donie Cassidy
Leader of Fianna Fáil in the Seanad
In office 1 September 2002 – 25 July 2007
Leader	Bertie Ahern
Preceded by	Donie Cassidy
Succeeded by	Donie Cassidy
Deputy leader of Fianna Fáil
In office 20 November 1994 – 7 July 2002
Leader	Bertie Ahern
Preceded by	Bertie Ahern
Succeeded by	Brian Cowen
Minister for Public Enterprise
In office 26 June 1997 – 6 June 2002
Taoiseach	Bertie Ahern
Preceded by	Alan Dukes(Transport, Energy and Communications)
Succeeded by	Séamus Brennan(Transport)
Minister for Health
In office 12 July 1991 – 11 February 1992
Taoiseach	Charles Haughey
Preceded by	Rory O'Hanlon
Succeeded by	John O'Connell
Minister for Education
In office 10 March 1987 – 11 February 1991
Taoiseach	Charles Haughey
Preceded by	Patrick Cooney
Succeeded by	Noel Davern
Minister of State
1993–1994	Enterprise and Employment
1992–1993	Industry and Commerce
Teachta Dála
In office May 2007–February 2011
In office November 1982–November 1992
Constituency	Longford–Westmeath
In office November 1992–June 2002
Constituency	Westmeath
Senator
In office 12 September 2002 – 24 May 2007
Constituency	Nominated by the Taoiseach
In office 8 October 1981 – 24 November 1982
Constituency	Cultural and Educational Panel
Personal details
Born	Mary Lenihan (1937-05-31)31 May 1937 Athlone,County Westmeath,Ireland
Political party	Fianna Fáil
Spouse	Enda O'Rourke ​ ​ (m.1962; died 2001)​
Children	2, includingFeargal
Parent	Patrick Lenihan(father)
Relatives	Brian Lenihan Snr(brother) Brian Lenihan Jnr(nephew) Conor Lenihan(nephew)
Alma mater	University College Dublin St Patrick's College, Maynooth

Mary O'Rourke(néeLenihan;born 31 May 1937) is an Irish formerFianna Fáilpolitician who served asLeader of the SeanadandLeader of Fianna Fáil in the Seanadfrom 2002 to 2007,Deputy leader of Fianna Fáilfrom 1994 to 2002,Minister for Public Enterprisefrom 1997 to 2002,Minister for Healthfrom 1991 to 1992 andMinister for Educationfrom 1987 to 1991. She also served as aMinister of Statefrom 1992 to 1994. She served as aTeachta Dála(TD) from 1982 to 2002 and 2007 to 2011. She served as aSenatorfor theCultural and Educational Panelfrom 1981 to 1982 and from 2002 to 2007, after beingNominated by the Taoiseach.

Early life

She was born inAthlone,County Westmeath,in 1937. She was educated at St. Peter's, Athlone; Loreto Bray Convent,County Wicklow;University College DublinandSt Patrick's College, Maynooth.She worked as a secondary school teacher before she began her political career.

Political career

O'Rourke began her political career in local politics, serving onAthlone Urban District Councilbetween 1974 and 1987 and onWestmeath County Councilbetween 1979 and 1987. She was elected toSeanad Éireannin 1981 as a Senator for theCultural and Educational Panel.She stood unsuccessfully for the Dáil at theFebruary 1982 general election,but was subsequently re-elected to the Seanad. At theNovember 1982 general election,she was first elected toDáil Éireannas a Fianna Fáil TD for theLongford–Westmeathconstituency, and from 1992 for the newWestmeathconstituency.

In 1987, she was appointedMinister for EducationbyCharles Haughey.O'Rourke and her brother,Brian Lenihan,became the first brother and sister in Irish history to serve in the samecabinet.In the November 1991 cabinet reshuffle, O'Rourke becameMinister for Health.In February 1992, Charles Haughey resigned asTaoiseachand Fianna Fáil leader. O'Rourke contested the subsequentleadership electionalong withMichael WoodsandAlbert Reynolds.Reynolds defeated the other two contenders and O'Rourke was subsequently dropped from her ministerial position, but was appointed to a junior ministry asMinister of State at the Department of Industry and Commercewith responsibility for Trade and Marketing. In January 1993, she was appointed asMinister of State at the Department of Enterprise and Employmentwith responsibility for Labour Affairs, serving until the fall of the Reynolds government in December 1994.

In 1994,Bertie Ahernbecame party leader and he appointed O'Rourke as deputy leader of Fianna Fáil, serving in the position until 2002. Following Ahern's election as Taoiseach in June 1997, O'Rourke becameMinister for Public Enterprise,holding this position until she lost herDáilseat at the2002 general election.This followed a vote management strategy from Fianna Fáil head office which restricted her from campaigning in her traditional areas aroundKilbeggan,in an attempt to win 2 of the 3 seats in Westmeath. The loss of her Dáil seat has also been attributed to her association with and the championing of, the privatisation ofTelecom Éireann,which proved a financial disaster for many small investors, due to the share price falling radically, post privatisation. During this term as Minister, she also became the subject of public criticism byRyanairchief executiveMichael O'Leary.Following the loss of her Dáil seat, she was nominated toSeanad Éireannas a Senator by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern where she becameLeader of the Seanadand leader of Fianna Fáil in the Seanad.

In January 2006, O'Rourke received the party nomination to stand at the2007 general election.She narrowly defeated her nearest rival and Dáil election running mate,Kevin "Boxer" Moranof Athlone Town Council, causing a controversy when she thanked her election team for working "like blacks."In May 2007, she was re-elected to the Dáil at the2007 general election,with her highest ever vote.

In November 2008, during a march against the re-introduction of college fees, students from theAthlone Institute of Technologylaid a funeral wreath at the door of O'Rourke's constituency office. The card in the wreath stated "Sincere sympathies on the death of free fees. We will remember this." O'Rourke described the act as "heinous". The wreath was placed there because O'Rourke was not speaking at a rally against the fees.

In July 2010, O'Rourke conceded that she did not expect the party to be in power after thenext general election.On RTÉ Radio'sToday with Pat Kennyprogramme, O'Rourke said the government was taking tough decisions to steer the country through the financial crisis and this would make it easy for the opposition. She said there was a general air of "crossness" within the Fianna Fáil party over their standing in the polls, but nobody was harboring leadership ambitions to challengeBrian Cowen.

O'Rourke in November 2010 said there was then more to unite her party and Fine Gael than to divide them. She pointed to the common approach of the two parties toNorthern Ireland,Europeand the current financial crisis. In an address to the1916–1921 ClubinDublin Castlelast night, she said that most voters no longer defined themselves in terms of Civil War politics. Having pointed to the shared values of the two parties on a number of issues, she said the last issue she wanted to mention was the "dreaded b" word.

Her senior years led her to often being referred to as the "Mammy of the Dáil".

She contested the2011 general election,but was defeated on the poll.O'Rourke has criticised formerTaoiseachBrian Cowen,saying that he should have resigned after his infamous "congested" radio interview.She supported the attack on Cowen by her nephew, former Finance MinisterBrian Lenihan,who said he was "disappointed" by Cowen's performance and he had to provide the leadership when theTaoiseachdid not.

In retirement, she received a lump sum of €237,000 and an annual pension of €97,000.

Other activities

As well as being a well-known politician, O'Rourke makes regular appearances in the media in a non-political capacity. She has been a contestant onRTÉ's reality seriesCelebrity Bainisteoir,as well as other shows such asSex & Sensibility.She has guest presentedTonight with Vincent Browne.

In 2012,Just Mary: My Memoirwas published. It won the 2012Irish Book Awardin the "Listeners' Choice" category.

Family

O'Rourke comes from a strong political family, her fatherPatrick Lenihanserved as a TD for Longford–Westmeath from 1965 to 1970. Her brotherBrian Lenihanwas a senior government Minister andTánaiste.Another brother Paddy Lenihan was aCounty Councillorin Roscommon, but resigned from Fianna Fáil in 1983 and became associated withNeil Blaney'sIndependent Fianna Fáilparty. Two of her nephews,Brian Lenihan JnrandConor Lenihan,both sons of her brother Brian, served as Ministers. Brian Lenihan Jnr was theMinister for Finance.Conor Lenihan was aMinister of State.

O'Rourke was widowed in January 2001, following the death of her husband, Enda. She has two sons. One of them, Aengus O'Rourke (her adopted son), ran for Athlone Town Council in 2009.The other son,Feargal O'Rourke,became Managing Partner of PriceWaterHouseCoopers in Ireland in 2015and is considered the "grand architect" of thedouble Irishtax system,a major contributor to Ireland's economic success in attracting US multinationals to Ireland.

See also

• Families in the Oireachtas