Joseph Austin Currie (11 October 1939 – 9 November 2021) was an Irish politician who served as a
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...
for Justice with responsibility for Children's Rights from 1994 to 1997. He served as a
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...
(TD) for the
Dublin West constituency from 1989 to 2002, representing
Fine Gael
Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil à ...
, and as a Member of the
Parliament of Northern Ireland
The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...
(MP) for
East Tyrone from 1964 to 1972, representing the
Nationalist Party and later the
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtà Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland ...
(SDLP).
Early life
Born in
Coalisland
Coalisland () is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, with a population of 5,682 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. Four miles from Lough Neagh, it was formerly a centre for coal mining.
History
Origins
In the late ...
,
Co Tyrone on 11 October 1939, Austin was the eldest of 11 children born to Mary (née O’Donnell) and John Currie. He was educated at the renowned
St Patrick's academy, Dungannon
Saint Patrick's Academy ( Irish: ''Acadamh Naomh Pádraig'') is a voluntary grammar school located in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It formed on 1 September 2003 when the two single-sex Saint Patrick's Academies, which coexisted ...
, and graduated in politics and history from
Queen's University Belfast. On 20 June 1968, he
squatted
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...
at a Kinnard Park house given to a Unionist secretary during a housing protest in
Caledon. All 14 houses in the new council development had been allocated to Protestants.
Then a sitting MP in the home rule Parliament of Northern Ireland, Currie's protest was unanimously approved by the Nationalist Party the next day.
This was one of the catalysts of the
civil rights movement in Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland civil rights movement dates to the early 1960s, when a number of initiatives emerged in Northern Ireland which challenged the inequality and discrimination against ethnic Irish Catholics that was perpetrated by the Ulster Pr ...
.
[
]
Political career
Currie became an active member in the . He would later speak about the effect of partition
Partition may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive
* Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job
Software
* Partition (database), the division of a ...
on Catholics in Northern Ireland: "Partition was used to try to cut us off from the rest of the Irish nation. Unionists did their best to stamp out our nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
and, the educational system, to the extent it could organise it, was oriented to Britain and we were not even allowed to use names such as Séamus or Seán. When my brothers' godparents went to register their birth, they were told no such names as Séamus or Seán existed in Northern Ireland and were asked for the English equivalent."
In 1964 he was elected in a by-election as a Nationalist MP for East Tyrone in the 10th House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
of the Parliament of Northern Ireland
The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...
, following the death of the sitting Nationalist MP, Joe Stewart. He retained he seat in both the general election to the 11th House of Commons in November 1965 and the 12th House of Commons in February 1969. This was the last election to the home rule Parliament at Stormort, before it was suspended by the UK Government in March 1972, and formally abolished in July 1973.
In 1970, he was a founder of the group that established the Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtà Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland ...
(SDLP). From 1973 to 1974, Currie was elected as an SDLP member of the short-lived devolved Northern Ireland Assembly. In 1974 he became chief whip of the SDLP, and in the same year became Minister for Housing, Local Government and Planning in the power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the ...
. The Assembly and Executive collapsed on 28 May 1974, after opposition from within the UUP and the Ulster Workers' Council strike
The Ulster Workers' Council (UWC) strike was a general strike that took place in Northern Ireland between 15 May and 28 May 1974, during " the Troubles". The strike was called by unionists who were against the Sunningdale Agreement, which had ...
. This led to the imposition of direct rule of Northern Ireland from London.
He contested the 1979 United Kingdom general election and 1986 by-election in the Fermanagh and South Tyrone seat, but was unsuccessful on both attempts. Currie also was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1982 for the same seat. That Assembly, which was an attempt by the UK Government to reintroduce devolved power-sharing, collapsed in 1986 without executive ministerial functions ever being transferred to it from the UK Secretary of State for Northern Ireland as no political agreement could be reached on power-sharing between the parties owing to nationalists abstentionism over the constituency boundaries used to elect members, and unionist opposition to the 1985 Anglo Irish Agreement.
Following his decision to quit Northern Ireland politics, and relocate his family to County Kildare, Currie became actively involved in politics in the Republic. Partly due to his long-standing doubts about the commitment of politicians in the Republic to the plight of northern nationalists, he joined the Fine Gael
Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil à ...
party in 1989. He was elected as a Fine Gael TD for Dublin West at the 1989 Irish general election
The 1989 Irish general election was held on Thursday, 15 June, three weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 25 May. The 26th Dáil assembled at Leinster House on 29 June. However, a new Taoiseach and a Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats ...
.
In 1990 Fine Gael selected Currie as their candidate for the 1990 Irish presidential election
The 1990 Irish presidential election was the tenth presidential election to be held in Ireland, the fifth to be contested by more than one candidate, and the first to have a female candidate and winner. It was held on Wednesday, 7 November 199 ...
, running against Tánaiste
The Tánaiste ( , ) is the deputy head of the government of Ireland and thus holder of its second-most senior office. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is former Tao ...
and Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtà Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...
TD, Brian Lenihan Sr, and Senator Mary Robinson
Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic RóibÃn; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...
for the Labour Party. The 1990 election was the first contested election for the Irish Presidency in 17 years. Currie received 267,902 first preference votes (approximately 17%) and was eliminated on the first count. The distribution of his votes saw Mary Robinson elected as Ireland's first female president on the second count, beating Lenihan by more than 86,000 votes.
In his 2004 autobiography ''All Hell will Break Loose'', he wrote about his experience of running in the presidential election, and the prejudice he faced as a nationalist from Ulster in southern politics: "What annoyed, indeed angered me most was the suggestion that because I came from the North, I was not a real Irishman ... what I called the partitionist mentality ... uring the election campaignthe hen Fianna FáilMinister for Justice Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician)">Ray_Burke.html" ;"title="Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician).html" ;"title="nowiki/> Ray_Burke">Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician).html"_;"title="nowiki/>Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician)">Ray_Burkesaid_Fine_Gael_leader_ Ray_Burke">Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician).html"_;"title="nowiki/>Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician)">Ray_Burkesaid_Fine_Gael_leader_Alan_Dukes">Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician)">Ray_Burke">Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician).html"_;"title="nowiki/>Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician)">Ray_Burkesaid_Fine_Gael_leader_Alan_Dukes_'had_to_go_to_Tyrone_to_find_a_candidate_for_the_presidency'_..._it_was_hard_to_take,_particularly_from_so-called_republicans".
Following_his_defeat_in_the_presidential_election,_Austin_Currie_held_his_Dáil_seat_in_Dublin_West_at_the_ Ray_Burke">Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician).html"_;"title="nowiki/>Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician)">Ray_Burkesaid_Fine_Gael_leader_Alan_Dukes">Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician)">Ray_Burke">Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician).html"_;"title="nowiki/>Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician)">Ray_Burkesaid_Fine_Gael_leader_Alan_Dukes_'had_to_go_to_Tyrone_to_find_a_candidate_for_the_presidency'_..._it_was_hard_to_take,_particularly_from_so-called_republicans".
Following_his_defeat_in_the_presidential_election,_Austin_Currie_held_his_Dáil_seat_in_Dublin_West_at_the_1992_Irish_general_election">1992_and_1997_Irish_general_election.html" ;"title="1992_Irish_general_election.html" ;"title="Alan_Dukes.html" ;"title="Ray Burke (Irish politician)">Ray Burke">Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician).html" ;"title="nowiki/> Ray_Burkesaid_Fine_Gael_leader_Alan_Dukes">Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician)">Ray_Burke">Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician).html"_;"title="nowiki/>Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician)">Ray_Burkesaid_Fine_Gael_leader_Alan_Dukes_'had_to_go_to_Tyrone_to_find_a_candidate_for_the_presidency'_..._it_was_hard_to_take,_particularly_from_so-called_republicans".
Following_his_defeat_in_the_presidential_election,_Austin_Currie_held_his_Dáil_seat_in_Dublin_West_at_the_1992_Irish_general_election">1992_and_1997_Irish_general_election">1997_general_elections.__Following_the_formation_of_the_so-called_24th_Government_of_Ireland.html" ;"title="Ray Burke (Irish politician)">Ray Burkesaid Fine Gael leader Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician)">Ray_Burke">Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician).html"_;"title="nowiki/>Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician)">Ray_Burkesaid_Fine_Gael_leader_Alan_Dukes_'had_to_go_to_Tyrone_to_find_a_candidate_for_the_presidency'_..._it_was_hard_to_take,_particularly_from_so-called_republicans".
Following_his_defeat_in_the_presidential_election,_Austin_Currie_held_his_Dáil_seat_in_Dublin_West_at_the_1992_Irish_general_election">1992_and_1997_Irish_general_election">1997_general_elections.__Following_the_formation_of_the_so-called_24th_Government_of_Ireland">Rainbow_Coalition_between_Fine_Gael,_Labour_and_Democratic_Left_(Ireland).html" ;"title="Alan Dukes">Ray Burke (Irish politician)">Ray Burke">Ray_Burke_(Irish_politician).html" ;"title="nowiki/>Ray Burke (Irish politician)">Ray Burkesaid Fine Gael leader Alan Dukes 'had to go to Tyrone to find a candidate for the presidency' ... it was hard to take, particularly from so-called republicans".
Following his defeat in the presidential election, Austin Currie held his Dáil seat in Dublin West at the 1992 Irish general election">1992 and 1997 Irish general election">1997 general elections. Following the formation of the so-called 24th Government of Ireland">Rainbow Coalition between Fine Gael, Labour and Democratic Left (Ireland)">Democratic Left, on 20 December 1994 newly appointed Taoiseach John Bruton appointed Currie as a Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...
with Responsibility for Children's Rights at the Departments of Health
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
, Education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...
and Justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
, becoming the first ever minister in an Irish Government with dedicated responsibility for children. He held this post until the appointment of a new Irish Government on 26 June 1997 following the 1997 Irish General Election
The 1997 Irish general election to the 28th Dáil was held on Friday, 6 June, following the dissolution of the 27th Dáil on 15 May by President Mary Robinson, on the request of Taoiseach John Bruton. The general election took place in 41 D ...
.
At the 2002 general election Currie contested the new constituency of Dublin Mid-West, and failed to be elected. He immediately announced his retirement from electoral politics. He continued to speak and campaign for civil rights across the island of Ireland and for causes he believed in, such as justice for the families of the Disappeared
An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organi ...
during the Troubles. Currie and his wife and family were personal friends of the family of one if the disappeared, Columba McVeigh
Columba McVeigh (1956 – 1 November 1975) was a youth from Northern Ireland who was abducted and most likely murdered by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). He was listed as one of the "Disappeared" by the Independent Commission for the ...
, from Donaghmore Co Tyrone.
Personal life
Austin Currie met his wife Annita in 1961 while he was studying Modern History and Politics at Queens University Belfast, where she was also a student. They were married in January 1968 and had five children, Estelle, CaitrÃona, Dualta, Austin Óg and Senator Emer Currie, who is a Member of the 26th Seanad.
In the 1960s and 1970s, he and his family were the repeated targets of loyalist paramilitary attacks on their home in Co Tyrone. In November 1972, his wife Anita suffered a brutal attack when two armed and masked men burst into her home looking to attack her husband, who happened to be away at a political speaking engagement in Co Cork that evening. Speaking about it in a TV interview two days later, Anita Currie spoke of how she was punched, cut with a blade, and kicked unconscious while lying on the floor, while her two young daughters looked on helplessly. As a result of these risks, and his growing disillusionment with the political direction the SDLP was taking, Currie quit Northern Ireland politics and relocated his family to the Republic of Ireland.
Austin Currie resided in County Kildare. He occasionally lectured and gave talks on issues relating to The Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na TrioblóidÃ) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
, and for causes he believed in, such as justice for the families of the Disappeared
An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organi ...
during the Troubles. Currie and his wife and family were personal friends of the family of one if the disappeared, Columba McVeigh
Columba McVeigh (1956 – 1 November 1975) was a youth from Northern Ireland who was abducted and most likely murdered by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). He was listed as one of the "Disappeared" by the Independent Commission for the ...
, from Donaghmore Co Tyrone.
Following the deaths of Seamus Mallon
Seamus Frederick Mallon (; 17 August 1936 – 24 January 2020) was an Irish politician who served as deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2001 and Deputy Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) from 1979 to 20 ...
and John Hume
John Hume (18 January 19373 August 2020) was an Irish nationalist politician from Northern Ireland, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the recent political history of Ireland, as one of the architects of the Northern Ire ...
in January and August 2020 respectively, Austin Currie became the last surviving founder of the SDLP.
Austin Currie died on 9 November 2021 at the age of 82 at his residence in Derrymullen Co Kildare. Following an initial funeral mass in Allentown Co Kildare, his remains were transferred to his original family home in Edendork, near Dungannon Co Tyrone, where a second funeral mass was celebrated at St. Malachy's Church, Edendork. He is buried alongside his parents in the cemetery adjoining the church.
Writing
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Currie, Austin
1939 births
2021 deaths
Alumni of Queen's University Belfast
Candidates for President of Ireland
Fine Gael TDs
Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1962–1965
Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1965–1969
Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1969–1973
Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1973–1974
Members of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
Northern Ireland MPAs 1982–1986
Members of the 26th Dáil
Members of the 27th Dáil
Members of the 28th Dáil
Nationalist Party (Ireland) members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland
Social Democratic and Labour Party members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland
Ministers of State of the 27th Dáil
Politicians from County Tyrone
Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for County Tyrone constituencies
Executive ministers of the 1974 Northern Ireland Assembly