Mathew Gerrard L'Estrange (7 November 1917 – 5 April 1996) was an Irish

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 � ...

politician who served as Government Chief Whip and

Minister of State at the Department of Defence The Minister of State at the Department of Defence ( ga, Aire Stáit ag an Roinn Cosanta) is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Defence of the Government of Ireland who performs duties and functions delegated by the Minister for Def ...

from June 1981 to November 1981. 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 Longford–Westmeath from 1965 to 1987, a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) for the Oireachtas from 1973 to 1979 and a Senator for the

Administrative Panel The Administrative Panel () is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Administrative Panel elects seven senators. Election ...

from 1954 to 1965.

Political career

L'Estrange was elected to

Westmeath County Council Westmeath County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae na hIarmhí) is the authority responsible for local government in County Westmeath, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible fo ...

in 1942, and served on that body until 1981. He was

cathaoirleach Cathaoirleach (; Irish for chairperson; plural: ) is the title of the chair (or presiding officer) of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the legislature of Ireland. The current Cathaoirleach, who has held the o ...

of the council for three years from 1959 to 1961 and served on virtually all the subsidiary and other bodies to which the council made appointments. He was chairman of the General Council of County Councils (Ireland) on three occasions, now known as the Association of County and City Councils. L'Estrange was an unsuccessful

Clann na Talmhan Clann na Talmhan (, "Family/Children of the land"; formally known as the ''National Agricultural Party'') was an Irish agrarian political party active between 1939 and 1965. Formation and growth Clann na Talmhan was founded on 29 June 1939 in ...

candidate for Dáil Éireann at the 1944 general election. He later joined

and ran as their candidate at the 1948 general election, but was again unsuccessful. In 1954, he secured election to the

8th Seanad This is a list of the members of the 8th Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These Senators were elected or appointed in 1954, after the 1954 general election and served until the close of poll for the 9 ...

as a Senator for the

. He was re-elected in 1957 to 9th Seanad, and in 1961 to

10th Seanad This is a list of the members of the 10th Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These Senators were elected or appointed in 1961, after the 1961 general election and served until the close of poll for th ...

. After another unsuccessful candidacy at the 1961 general election, L'Estrange was finally elected to the

18th Dáil 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

for the Longford–Westmeath constituency at the 1965 election, and was re-elected at each successive election until he retired from politics at the 1987 general election. After the 1981 general election, a

– Labour Party coalition was returned to office in the 22nd Dáil under

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of 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 legislature) and the o ...

Garret FitzGerald. L'Estrange was appointed

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 ...

, a position which included the role of Chief Whip. In 1973, L'Estrange was appointed a member of the second delegation from the Oireachtas to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

and re-appointed to the third delegation in 1977. When his party was in Government and was being attacked by

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 Christia ...

on the draining of the River Shannon, he is reputed to have replied "If you can suck as well as you can blow, the Shannon will be drained by teatime".

Personal life

Gerry L'Estrange was born in , Street, County Westmeath the eldest of six children of farmer Patrick L'Estrange and Maud (''née'' Byrne).Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes 1845–1958 He was a noted athlete who competed on the national and local stage in long-distance running. In 1955, he married farmer's daughter Aileen Kellaghan from Ballinriddera,

Multyfarnham Multyfarnham or Multyfarnam () is a village in County Westmeath, Ireland. History First founded in 1268, the Franciscan monastery at Multyfarnham is still home to a community of friars. During the English conquest of Ireland in the 17th cent ...

, County Westmeath. They lived in

Killintown Killintown is a townland in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is about north of Mullingar. It contains the western part of the small lake, Lough Patrick, the remainder being in Stonehall. Killintown is one of 11 townlands of the civil parish of ...

, Multyfarnham. Both L'Estrange and his wife were keen on greyhound racing, owning and training their own dogs. L'Estrange died on Good Friday, 1996 after a long illness. The then Taoiseach,

John Bruton John Gerard Bruton (born 18 May 1947) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1994 to 1997, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States from 2004 to 2009, Leader of Fine Gael from 1990 to 2001, Leader o ...

, spoke of a man who "could speak strongly and from a deep conviction and at the same time hold no personal malice towards any of the victims of his eloquence".

Maurice Manning Maurice Manning (born 14 June 1943) is an Irish academic and former Fine Gael politician. Manning was a member of the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) for 21 years, serving in both the Dáil and the Seanad. Since August 2002 he has been President ...

recalled a man never "in bad humour or without that smile which usually meant that a practical joke or a good story was on the way".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:L'Estrange, Gerry 1917 births 1996 deaths Fine Gael TDs Members of the 8th Seanad Members of the 9th Seanad Members of the 10th Seanad Members of the 18th Dáil Members of the 19th Dáil Members of the 20th Dáil Members of the 21st Dáil Members of the 22nd Dáil Members of the 23rd Dáil Members of the 24th Dáil Fine Gael MEPs MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 1977–1979 MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 1973–1977 Irish farmers Ministers of State of the 22nd Dáil Fine Gael senators Government Chief Whip (Ireland) People from County Westmeath