John F. Donnellan (born 27 March 1937) is an Irish former politician and sportsman. He served as a

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 � ...

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 twenty-five years and as a

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

from 1982 to 1987. He played

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 ...

for his local club

Dunmore McHales Dunmore MacHales GAA ( ga, CLG Dún Mhór Mhic Eil) is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Dunmore, County Galway, Ireland. The club is a member of Galway GAA. Teams at underage and Intermediate level play in the Galway League and Cham ...

and at senior level for the Galway county team in the 1960s.

Early and private life

John Donnellan was born in

Dunmore, County Galway Dunmore () is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It is located on the N83 national secondary road at its junction with the R328 and R360 regional roads. The town belongs to an ancient tuath called Conmhaícne Dúna-Móir and Cenél Dubáin, ...

in 1937. He was born into a family that had strong interests in both

Gaelic games Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the ...

and Irish politics. His father, Michael Donnellan, had won an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) medal with Galway in 1925, later becoming a TD for

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 ...

. John Donnellan would go on to follow in his father's footsteps in both of these pursuits, although for a different party. John's son,

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

, would also go on to play football for Galway, winning All-Ireland SFC medals in 1998 and 2001.

Playing career

Club

Donnellan played his club

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

with the

club in the north of

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 = ...

. He enjoyed much success with the club, beginning in 1961 when he won a senior

county championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

for the first time. In 1962 Donnellan won a county league medal before claiming a second county championship title in 1963. This last win was later converted into a

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

club football championship. In 1966 Donnellan's club completed the double of county league and county championship victories. He completed a great run of success by capturing back-to-back county championship and Connacht club titles in 1968 and 1969.

Inter-county

Donnellan's career as an inter-county footballer began in the late 1950s. He won an All-Ireland Junior Football Championship title with the Galway junior team in 1958 and he quickly joined the senior side. Two years later in 1960 Donnellan won his first

title; however, Galway were later defeated in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final. Three years later in 1963 he captured a second provincial title; however on that occasion

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 ...

defeated the men from the west in the All-Ireland SFC final. In 1964 Donnellan was appointed

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the Galway team. That year he won a third Connacht title before leading his team out in the All-Ireland final against

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

. Galway were victorious on that day by five points and Donnellan captured his first All-Ireland SFC medal. His moment of triumph was short-lived as, shortly after hoisting the Sam Maguire Cup, he learned that his father Michael had died in the Hogan Stand shortly before the start of the second-half. In 1965 Donnellan added a fourth provincial medal to his collection. In the subsequent All-Ireland final against Kerry he was sent off but Galway were still victorious, giving Donnellan a second consecutive All-Ireland medal. The following year he won a fifth Connacht Championship title before qualifying for a fourth consecutive All-Ireland final appearance. Galway had a six-point win over Meath, thus giving Donnellan a third consecutive All-Ireland SFC medal and establishing that Galway team as one of the greatest of all time. In 1967 he won a

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...

medal with

before winning a sixth and final provincial medal in 1968. Donnellan retired from inter-county football shortly after.

Political career

Donnellan's father Michael died suddenly in September 1964, and at the resulting by-election in December John 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 ...

as a Fine Gael TD for the Galway East constituency. He was successful at the next eight general elections, with changes of constituency; to Galway North-East in 1969, back to Galway East in 1977, and from 1981 to 1989 for Galway West. In December 1982, he was appointed by

Garret FitzGerald Garret Desmond FitzGerald (9 February 192619 May 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, economist and barrister who served twice as Taoiseach, serving from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. He served as Leader of Fine Gael from 1977 to 1987, and ...

as Minister of State at the Department of Posts and Telegraphs and

Minister of State at the Department of Transport The Minister of State at the Department of Transport is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Transport of the Government of Ireland who may perform functions delegated by the Minister for Transport. A Minister of State does not hold ca ...

. In 1983, he was reassigned as Minister of State at the Department of Health and Minister of State at the Department of Social Welfare with special responsibility for public health and social welfare information. He served until Fine Gael left office after the 1987 general election. In April 1988, following criticism of party leader

Alan Dukes Alan Dukes (born 1945) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Transport, Energy and Communication from 1996 to 1997, Leader of the Opposition and Leader of Fine Gael from 1987 to 1990, Minister for Justice from 1986 t ...

, Donnellan was expelled from the parliamentary party. Donnellan retired from politics at the 1989 general election.