Dara Calleary (born 10 May 1973) is an Irish
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 Christian- ...
politician who has served as
Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation since August 2022.
[ He has been 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 Mayo Mayo often refers to:
* Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo"
* Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States
Mayo may also refer to:
Places
Antarctica
* Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land
Australia
* Division of Mayo, an Aust ...
constituency since the 2007 general election. He served as Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine ( ga, An tAire TalmhaÃochta, Bia agus Mara) is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Historically, the agriculture portfol ...
from July to August 2020, Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2018 to 2020 and Minister of State for Labour Affairs from 2009 to 2011.
Early life
Calleary was born in Ballina, County Mayo
Ballina ( ; ) is a town in north County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies at the mouth of the River Moy near Killala Bay, in the Moy valley and Parish of Kilmoremoy, with the Ox Mountains to the east and the Nephin Beg Range, Nephin ...
, in 1973. He was educated at St Oliver Plunkett National School and St Muredach's College. He later studied at Trinity College Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
. He previously worked with Chambers Ireland
The Chambers of Commerce of Ireland, trading as Chambers Ireland is the federation of chambers of commerce for the Republic of Ireland.
It is a member organisation of EUROCHAMBRES.
''InBUSINESS'' magazine
''InBUSINESS'' is the organisation's ...
, the largest business organisation in Ireland, and also worked in an Irish bank.
Calleary is the son of Seán Calleary
Seán Calleary (27 October 1931 – 4 June 2018) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Minister of State (Ireland), Minister of State from 1979 to 1981, from October to December 1982, and from 1987 to 1992. He served as a Teachta ...
who was a TD for Mayo East from 1973 to 1992, and the grandson of Phelim Calleary
Phelim Alfred Calleary (3 October 1895 – 4 January 1974) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Mayo North constituency from 1952 to 1969.
He was elected as a Fianna Fáil TD for the Mayo North constitu ...
who was a TD for Mayo North from 1952 to 1969.
Political career
Calleary has been a member of the Fianna Fáil National Executive since 1997 and has served on party policy committees on Transport, Enterprise and Employment, Agriculture and Youth Affairs.
He was first elected to the Dáil at the 2007 general election. In 2007, Calleary chaired the first ever Ógra Fianna Fáil branch meeting in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, at Queen's University Belfast
, mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back?
, top_free_label =
, top_free =
, top_free_label1 =
, top_free1 =
, top_free_label2 =
, top_free2 =
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public research university
, parent = ...
. In February 2008, Calleary was appointed Chairman of Ógra Fianna Fáil
Ógra Fianna Fáil(; meaning "Youth of Fianna Fáil") is the youth wing of Fianna Fáil.
The organisation was founded in 1975 by party leader Jack Lynch under the guidance of party general secretary, Séamus Brennan. It is active on an all-Ir ...
, by Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Bertie Ahern
Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...
, at the National Youth Conference in Tullamore
Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal (Ireland), Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, midlands reg ...
, County Offaly
County Offaly (; ga, Contae UÃbh FhailÃ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of UÃ Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...
.
Minister of State
On 22 April 2009, he was appointed , with special responsibility for labour affairs. On 23 March 2010, he was given additional responsibilities, as Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach
The Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach is a junior ministerial post in the Department of the Taoiseach of the Government of Ireland who performs duties and functions delegated by the Taoiseach.
The position was first created ...
, at the Department of Finance and at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation (following departmental restructuring), with special responsibilities for public service transformation and labour affairs.
Opposition spokesperson
In the Fianna Fáil Front Bench
Fianna Fáil is the largest political party in the Oireachtas. On 12 April 2011 party leader Micheál Martin appointed his second front bench, consisting of all 20 of the party's Teachtaà Dála (TDs) and one local councillor, to be spokesperson ...
, he served as Opposition Spokesperson for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation from 2011 to 2016 and Opposition Spokesperson for Public Expenditure and Reform from 2016 to 2018.
In March 2018, he was appointed Deputy leader of Fianna Fáil by party leader Micheál Martin
Micheál Martin (; born 1 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who is serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs (Ireland), Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence since Decembe ...
.
Following the 2020 general election, Calleary served as Fianna Fáil's chief negotiator as the party worked on a deal with 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 the Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
to enter into government as a coalition.
Appintment as Government Chief Whip
On 27 June 2020, at the formation of the new government, Calleary was appointed by Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Micheál Martin as Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach
The Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach is a junior ministerial post in the Department of the Taoiseach of the Government of Ireland who performs duties and functions delegated by the Taoiseach.
The position was first created ...
with responsibility as Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes.
United Kingdom
...
. Although Calleary was deputy leader of Fianna Fáil and chief negotiator for Fianna Fáil, he was not appointed to cabinet. The lack of any representative in the cabinet from the west of Ireland was heavily criticised by some. An article by the Mayo-based Western People
The ''Western People'' is a weekly local newspaper published in Ballina, County Mayo in the Republic of Ireland. It was first published in 1883.
The newspaper was part of the Thomas Crosbie Holdings group. Thomas Crosbie Holdings went into rec ...
declared it "a cabinet fit for Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
". While Calleary accepted the role, he publicly acknowledged that he was "angry and disappointed" not to have been offered a departmental portfolio and said that he still saw himself eventually leading a department. On 1 July, he was appointed to the further position of Minister of State for the Gaeltacht and Sport.
Appointment to cabinet and resignation
On 15 July 2020, following the sacking of Barry Cowen
Barry Cowen (born 28 August 1967) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Laois–Offaly constituency since the 2020 general election, and previously from 2011 to 2016 and from 2016 to 2020 for the Offaly ...
from the position, Calleary was appointed as Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine ( ga, An tAire TalmhaÃochta, Bia agus Mara) is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Historically, the agriculture portfol ...
by Micheál Martin.
On 20 August 2020, Calleary was implicated in the Oireachtas Golf Society scandal when news broke that Calleary and 81 others attended an Oireachtas Golf Society dinner the previous day, in apparent breach of Government COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
guidelines. He resigned as Agriculture Minister the following morning. Calleary stated to MidWest Radio
MidWest Radio is a radio station based in County Mayo, Ireland. Officially opened in 1989 (having operated previously as an unlicensed station), its current studios are located on Clare Street, Ballyhaunis. The JNLR/MRBI radio listenership sur ...
that "I made a big mistake. I shouldn't have gone to the function. I didn't want to let people down and I take responsibility for that mistake". Michael Clifford and Paul Hosford of the ''Irish Examiner
The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ...
,'' suggested that the scandal had "left alleary'spolitical career in tatters" and had deeply rocked the Martin Cabinet. Three days later on 24 August 2020, he also resigned as Deputy Leader of 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 Christian- ...
. In February 2022, a District Court concluded that the event had not breached public health guidelines and had been safely organised.
Return as Minister of State
On 31 August 2022, following the resignation of Robert Troy
Robert Troy (born 24 January 1982) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Longford–Westmeath constituency since 2011.
From July 2020 to August 2022 he served as Minister of State at the Department of ...
, Calleary was appointed as with special responsibility for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation.
See also
*Families in the Oireachtas
There is a tradition in Irish politics of having family members succeed each other, frequently in the same parliamentary seat. This article lists families where two or more members of that family have been members ( TD or Senator) of either of th ...
References
External links
*
Dara Calleary's page on the Fianna Fáil website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calleary, Dara
1973 births
Living people
Alumni of Trinity College Dublin
Dara
Dara is a given name used for both males and females, with more than one origin. Dara is found in the Bible's Old Testament Books of Chronicles. Dara “רעwas a descendant of Judah (son of Jacob). (The Bible. 1 Chronicles 2:6). Dara (also known ...
Fianna Fáil TDs
Members of the 30th Dáil
Members of the 31st Dáil
Members of the 32nd Dáil
Members of the 33rd Dáil
Ministers of State of the 30th Dáil
People from Ballina, County Mayo
Politicians from County Mayo
Ministers of State of the 33rd Dáil
Government Chief Whip (Ireland)
Ministers for Agriculture (Ireland)