Joe Sherlock (26 September 1930 – 10 September 2007) was an Irish Labour Party politician who 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 2002 to 2007, 1987 to 1992 and 1981 to 1982. He was a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for the

Labour Panel The Labour Panel ( ga, An Rolla Oibreachais) 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 Labour Panel elects eleven senators. ...

from 1993 to 1997. Sherlock was born in

Kildorrery Kildorrery () is a village in north County Cork, Ireland. It lies at the crossroads of the N73 road from Mallow to Mitchelstown and the R512 from Kilmallock to Fermoy. This hilltop village has views to the east of the Galtee Mountains and ...

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 ...

, in 1930. He was educated at the local national school. He took part in the IRA's Border Campaign as a young man, which resulted in him being imprisoned in

Mountjoy Prison Mountjoy Prison ( ga, Príosún Mhuinseo), founded as Mountjoy Gaol and nicknamed ''The Joy'', is a medium security men's prison located in Phibsborough in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current prison Governor is Edward Mullins. History ...

for six months. However, following the failure of the campaign, he endorsed the IRA's and Sinn Féin's move towards social activism and participating in politics. He worked at the local sugar factory for 18 years, and first held political office in 1967, when he was elected to Mallow Urban District Council as a

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

representative. During the split in Sinn Féin in 1970, Sherlock remained with the "Official" wing of the movement. In 1974, he was elected to

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 served as Chairperson of Mallow UDC. He held both seats until the ending of the dual mandate in 2003. He was first 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 the 1981 general election as a Sinn Féin - The Workers' Party TD. Sherlock was re-elected at the February 1982 general election, but lost his seat at the November 1982 general election. Despite the loss of his seat, he continued to be active in local politics. He was elected to the Dáil again at the

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

and

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

general elections, but lost his seat at the 1992 general election. Joining the new Democratic Left party, he was elected to

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...

in 1993 (as part of an election pact with the

Progressive Democrats The Progressive Democrats ( ga, An Páirtí Daonlathach, literally "The Democratic Party" ), commonly referred to as the PDs, was a conservative-liberal political party in the Republic of Ireland. Launched on 21 December 1985 by Desmond O'Mal ...

),Chapter 10 The Subterranean Election of the Seanad
Michael Gallagher and Liam Weeks UCC serving in the upper house until 1997. He failed to be elected to the Dáil again at the 1997 general election, but eventually regained his seat after ten years at the 2002 general election. In July 2005, Sherlock announced that he would not be standing again in the next general election. His son

Seán Sherlock Seán Sherlock (born 6 December 1972) is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork East constituency since the 2007 general election. He served as a Minister of State from 2011 to 2016. Early life Sherlo ...

, then a member of both Cork County Council and Mallow Town Council, was elected at the 2007 general election to succeed him. He died on 10 September 2007, after a short illness.

References

External links

Statement by Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore following Joe Sherlock's death
– 13 September 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sherlock, Joe 1930 births 2007 deaths Democratic Left (Ireland) TDs Democratic Left (Ireland) senators Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members Labour Party (Ireland) TDs Local councillors in County Cork Members of the 20th Seanad Members of the 22nd Dáil Members of the 23rd Dáil Members of the 25th Dáil Members of the 26th Dáil Members of the 29th Dáil People from Mallow, County Cork Politicians from County Cork Workers' Party (Ireland) TDs