David Joseph Leahy (19 October 1883 – 19 December 1948) was an Australian trade unionist and politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 1938 until his death, representing the seat of Hannans. Leahy was born in

Castleisland Castleisland () is a town and commercial centre in County Kerry in south west Ireland. The town is known for the width of its main street. As of the 2016 Census, Castleisland had a population of 2,486. Castleisland was described by one of its ...

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

, Ireland, to Margaret (née Reidy) and David Leahy. His parents emigrated to Australia when he was a child, and he was raised in

Kyneton, Victoria Kyneton ( ) is a town in the Macedon Ranges region of Victoria, Australia. The Calder Freeway bypasses Kyneton to the north and east. Kyneton is on Dja Dja Wurrung, Taungurung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung country. The town has four main streets: ...

. Leahy moved to Western Australia in 1906, and began working as a miner in the

Sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

area.David Joseph Leahy
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 23 May 2016. He later moved to the

Eastern Goldfields The Eastern Goldfields is part of the Western Australian Goldfields in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, covering the present and former gold-mining area east of Perth. Extent and name origin The region encompasses the town ...

, living for periods in

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

and

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...

and working as an official with a gold miners' union. Leahy entered parliament at the 1938 Hannans by-election, caused by the death of Labor government minister

Selby Munsie Selby Walter Munsie (23 September 1870 – 12 March 1938) was an Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1911 until his death, representing the seat of Hannans. He served as a ...

. He was re-elected at the

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

, and 1947 elections, but died in office in December 1948, aged 65, after a long illness."MR. LEAHY M.L.A. DEAD"
''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

'', 21 December 1948. Leahy had married Sophie Fongo in 1912, with whom he had five children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leahy, David 1883 births 1948 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Irish emigrants to colonial Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from Castleisland People from Kyneton Politicians from County Kerry Trade unionists from Western Australia