Henry Frances Kenny (7 September 1913 – 25 September 1975) 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

Minister of State at the Department of Finance The Minister of State at the Department of Finance is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Finance of the Government of Ireland. A Minister of State does not hold cabinet rank. The position was created on 1 January 1978, replacing the ...

from 1973 to 1975. 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) from 1954 to 1975. He was the father of former

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 ...

Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from ...

. He was also a

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

er who won an

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

medal with the Mayo county team in 1936.

Early life

Kenny was born on Main Street,

Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Developing around a 13th century castle of the de Barry family, de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal poi ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

, in 1913. He was educated at the local St Patrick's national school and St Gerald's College. He subsequently attended St Patrick's College in Drumcondra,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, where he qualified as a national school teacher. After graduation he taught in

Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speak ...

and Williamstown,

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, before being appointed principal of Leitir national school in

Islandeady Islandeady () is a village in County Mayo, Ireland, about halfway between the towns of Castlebar and Westport. The parish of Islandeady meets Castlebar to the east, Westport and Newport to the west, and Aughagower and Killawalla to the south ...

, County Mayo.

Football career

Club

He played his club

with

Castlebar Mitchels Castlebar Mitchels is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the Castlebar area in County Mayo, Ireland. The club was founded in 1885 and is named after the nationalist John Mitchel (1815–1875). Though football is the club's dominant spor ...

club, and won several county senior championship medals in the 1930s.

Inter-county

Kenny's performances at club level earned him a place on the senior Mayo county team. He was a member of the record-breaking Mayo team that won six consecutive

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

titles from 1934 until 1939. Kenny also won an

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

winners' medal in 1936.

Political career

His entry into politics was unusual in the sense that neither he nor his family were steeped in politics at the time. In spite of this he was elected to

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 ...

at his first attempt, at the 1954 general election, as a

(TD) for the Mayo South constituency. The election saw Fine Gael enter government as the lead party in the country's second inter-party government. Kenny, as a new TD, remained on the backbenches; however, he was subsequently elected to

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

. Kenny retained his seat at the 1957 general election; however, Fine Gael lost power as

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- ...

began sixteen years of uninterrupted government. During that time he retained his Dáil seat at every general election, moving to the Mayo West constituency in 1969. That same year he was appointed Fine Gael spokesperson on the Board of Works, a position he held until 1972. The results of the 1973 general election saw Fine Gael and the Labour Party form a coalition government. Kenny was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance where he had responsibility for the Board of Works.

Death and private life

Two years after being appointed to the government, Kenny was diagnosed with cancer. He died on 25 September 1975. He was survived by his wife Eithne and five children. His son,

, was elected to the Dáil at the by-election in 1975. Another son, also Henry Kenny, was a member of

from 1999 to 2019. His widow Eithne Kenny died at the age of 93 in Castlebar on 26 November 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenny, Henry 1913 births 1975 deaths Alumni of St Patrick's College, Dublin Deaths from cancer in the Republic of Ireland Fathers of Taoisigh Fine Gael TDs Heads of schools in Ireland Irish schoolteachers

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

Mayo inter-county Gaelic footballers Members of the 15th Dáil Members of the 16th Dáil Members of the 17th Dáil Members of the 18th Dáil Members of the 19th Dáil Members of the 20th Dáil Parliamentary Secretaries of the 20th Dáil Politicians from County Mayo People from Castlebar People educated at St Gerald's College, Castlebar