Christy O'Sullivan (born 27 November 1948) is an Irish former

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 Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...

politician. He was 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 Cork South-West constituency from 2007 to 2011. From

Clonakilty Clonakilty (; ), sometimes shortened to Clon, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. The town is located at the head of the tidal Clonakilty Bay. The rural hinterland is used mainly for dairy farming. The town's population as of 2016 was 4,592. Th ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, O'Sullivan first stood for public office at the 1999 local elections, when he stood as

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

in the

Skibbereen Skibbereen (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in West Cork West Cork ( ga, Iarthar Chorcaí) is a tourist region and municipal district in County Cork, Ireland. As a municipal district, West Cork falls within the administr ...

local electoral area and won a seat on

Cork County Council Cork County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Chorcaí) is the authority responsible for local government in County Cork, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and co ...

. He contested the 2002 general election in Cork South-West as an independent, when he won over 10% of the votes but was not elected. He was re-elected to the County Council at the 2004 local elections, and in January 2007 he joined

, and was imposed as a Fianna Fáil candidate for the 2007 general election, without a selection conference. His popularity as a local councillor was hoped to strengthen the party's hopes of retaining the two seats which it had won in the three-seat constituency in 2002, and O'Sullivan was seen as a strong candidate to succeed

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr B ...

, who was retiring after 30 years in

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

. The strategy partly worked. Fianna Fáil increased its share of the vote, with O'Sullivan topping the poll, and he was the first candidate to win a seat. However, his colleague

Denis O'Donovan Denis O'Donovan (born 23 July 1955) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Senator for the Agricultural Panel since April 2011. He previously served as Cathaoirleach of Seanad Éireann from 2016 to 2020 and Leas-Chathaoirleach of Se ...

, who had won a seat from

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 � ...

in 2002, was defeated after just one term in the Dáil. Under the

Local Government Act 2001 The Local Government Act 2001 (No. 37) was enacted by the Oireachtas on 21 July 2001 to reform local government in the Republic of Ireland. Most of the provisions of the Act came into operation on 1 January 2002. The act was a restatement and a ...

, O'Sullivan vacated his council seat when elected to the Dáil. His son

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

was then co-opted to the County Council in his place. He was arrested on suspicion of

drink driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is i ...

on 2 June 2008, he has apologised after failing a

breath test A breath test is a type of test performed on air generated from the act of exhalation. Types include: *Breathalyzer – by far the most common usage of this term relates to the legal breath test to determine if a person is driving under the inf ...

near Clonakilty. On 4 November 2008, he was banned for driving for 1 year and fined €300 after pleading guilty to a charge of drink driving. He lost his seat at the 2011 general election. His son Christopher O'Sullivan was elected as a TD for Cork South-West at the 2020 general election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osullivan, Christy 1948 births Living people Fianna Fáil TDs Independent politicians in Ireland Members of Cork County Council Members of the 30th Dáil

See also

References