John Francis O'Connell (20 January 1927 – 8 March 2013) was an Irish politician who served as

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

from 1992 to 1993 and

Ceann Comhairle The (; "Head of heCouncil"; plural usually ) is the chairperson (or speaker) of , the lower house of the (parliament) of Ireland. The person who holds the position is elected by members of the from among their number in the first session ...

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

from 1981 to 1982. He served as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) from 1965 to 1987 and from 1989 to 1993. He served as a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP) for the

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

constituency from 1979 to 1981. He was a

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

from 1987 to 1989, after being

nominated by the Taoiseach A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...

Early life

O'Connell was born in a tenement at

Aungier Street Aungier Street () is a street on the south side of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It runs north-south as a continuation of South Great George's Street. It is the location of both a Technological University Dublin and a Dublin Business Sc ...

, and educated at St. Vincent's C.B.S. in

Glasnevin Glasnevin (, also known as ''Glas Naedhe'', meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home to ...

and the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations ...

, Dublin. In 1960 he founded '' MIMS Ireland'', a monthly index of medical specialities, and in 1967 he founded the '' Irish Medical Times'', a weekly broadsheet for doctors.

Political career

He began his political career when he was elected to

as a Labour Party TD for Dublin South-West at the 1965 general election. He held a seat for the party in the constituency until a revision of constituencies in 1977, when he was elected for Dublin Ballyfermot. At the first direct elections in 1979 to the European Parliament, he was elected with his running mate Michael O'Leary to the

constituency. There was a further revision of constituencies at the 1981 general election. He failed to be selected as a Labour Party candidate for Dublin South-Central with party leader

Frank Cluskey Frank Cluskey (8 April 1930 – 7 May 1989) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism from 1982 to 1983, Leader of the Labour Party from 1977 to 1981 and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minist ...

. O'Connell was encouraged to stand in Dublin West but refused. He contested Dublin South-Central as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

candidate, topping the poll, while Cluskey lost his seat. When the

22nd Dáil The 22nd Dáil was elected at the 1981 Irish general election, 1981 general election on 11 June 1981 and met on 30 June 1981. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature), of Republic of Ireland, I ...

met in June 1981, O'Connell was elected as

. He resigned from the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two 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 ...

. In March 1982, at the beginning of the

23rd Dáil The 23rd Dáil was elected at the February 1982 general election on 18 February 1982 and met on 9 March 1982. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature), of Ireland are known as TDs. It sat with ...

, he was again elected as Ceann Comhairle. However, in December 1982, when the 24th Dáil met, his nomination to the position was unsuccessful, being defeated by

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, 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 Éireann. The party had a member ...

Tom Fitzpatrick Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film * ''Tom'' (2002 film) ...

. As outgoing Ceann Comhairle, O'Connell was returned automatically in the two elections of 1982. He remained an independent TD until February 1985, when he joined

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

. He lost his Dáil seat at the 1987 general election. That year he was one of those

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who led four governments as Taoiseach: December 1979 to June 1981, March to December 1982, March 1987 to June 1989, and June 1989 to February 1992 ...

to the 18th Seanad, serving until he regained his Dáil seat at the 1989 general election. Following

Albert Reynolds Albert Martin Reynolds (3 November 1932 – 21 August 2014) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1992 to 1994. He held various cabinet positions between 1979 and 1991, including Ministe ...

' resignation from cabinet, O'Connell supported him and is seen as one of those who helped persuade Haughey to resign when he did. O'Connell was appointed

by Reynolds in 1992. He remained as Minister for Health until 1993, when owing to ill-health, he retired from cabinet and then resigned from the Dáil. Further controversy surrounded O'Connell's relationship with Charles Haughey in later years. It was revealed during the

Moriarty Tribunal The Moriarty Tribunal, officially called the Tribunal of Inquiry into certain Payments to Politicians and Related Matters, was an Irish Tribunal of Inquiry established in 1997 into the financial affairs of politicians Charles Haughey and Mich ...

firstly that O'Connell was the middleman for donations from Arab tycoon Mahmoud Fustok to Haughey; and secondly that O'Connell had invested a significant sum in Celtic Helicopters, a business venture owned by Haughey's son Ciarán. In the 1970s he arranged a meeting in his home between

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

MP, then leader of the

British Labour Party The Labour Party, often referred to as Labour, is a List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom that sits on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. The party has been describe ...

, and

Dáithí Ó Conaill Dáithí Ó Conaill (English: ''David O'Connell''; May 1938 – 1 January 1991) was an Irish republican, a member of the IRA Army Council of the Provisional IRA, and vice-president of Sinn Féin and Republican Sinn Féin. He was also the firs ...

, a member of the Provisional IRA Army Council. Negotiations that night to broker a ceasefire were successful in the short term but ultimately broke down. In 1988 he published a memoir, ''Doctor John: crusading doctor and politician''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnell, John 1927 births 2013 deaths Labour Party (Ireland) TDs Independent TDs Fianna Fáil TDs Members of the 18th 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 Members of the 26th Dáil Members of the 27th Dáil Politicians from Dublin (city) Alumni of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland 20th-century Irish medical doctors Presiding officers of Dáil Éireann Labour Party (Ireland) MEPs MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 1979–1984 Ministers for health of Ireland Nominated members of Seanad Éireann Fianna Fáil senators People from Glasnevin Medical doctors from Dublin (city)