John Costelloe (c. 1900 – date of death unknown) was an Irish shopkeeper and

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- ...

politician who served for two years as a member of the 10th Seanad Éireann. John Healy ("Backbencher"), Inside Politics, ''The Irish Times'', 30 November 1963. Costelloe was from Ballyduff,

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in County ...

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 ...

. He was nominated as a candidate to the

Industrial and Commercial Panel The Industrial and Commercial Panel ( ga, An Rolla Tionscail Agus Tráchtála) 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 Ind ...

of the Seanad by the Taoiseach, Seán Lemass following the death of Fianna Fáil senator Daniel Moloney.The sources are ambiguous about the name of the winner of the Seanad

by-election on 28 November 1963
Oireachtas members database
lists his name as "John Costello", bu
the record of Seanad proceedings
names the new senator as "John Costelloe", and the latter spelling is also used in th
record of the first Seanad division in which he voted
and in subsequent proceedings. At the by-election, on 28 November 1963, Costelloe was elected on the first count with 112 votes as opposed to 87 for his Fine Gael opponent John Conlan (in a Seanad panel by-election, the electorate consists of the sitting deputies and senators).Two Elected in By-Elections to the Senate, ''The Irish Times'', 29 November 1963. Writing in ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' under the pseudonym ''Backbencher'', journalist John Healy claimed that Costelloe's election was due to the "Kerry Mafia" in the Fianna Fáil party who had insisted that Moloney, a Kerry native, should be replaced by someone from the same area. A much younger candidate had been proposed but was outvoted; in Healy's view this was through the influence of long-serving North Kerry TD Tom McEllistrim who hoped his son, also Tom McEllistrim would inherit his seat on his retirement, and wanted to ensure no other candidate could use the Seanad seat to build support in the constituency. Healy, suggesting Costelloe was older than his claimed age of 63, and was poorly qualified for the Industrial and Commercial panel ("He runs a tidy little grocery shop and he has a bit of land."), pointed out that he had previously failed to be elected to

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

, and suggested Costelloe would have little to contribute in the Seanad ("he will cause the shorthand takers no trouble"). In the event, he made just four interventions during his term. He was not re-elected at the 1965 Seanad election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Costelloe, John Year of birth uncertain Year of death missing 1900s births Fianna Fáil senators Members of the 10th Seanad People from Tralee Politicians from County Kerry Industrial and Commercial Panel senators