John Francis O'Connell (20 January 1927 – 8 March 2013) was an Irish Labour Party,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

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 Christia ...

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 and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

from 1992 to 1993 and Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann from 1981 to 1982. 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 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 elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) for the

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

constituency from 1979 to 1981. He was a Senator from 1987 to 1989, after being nominated by the Taoiseach.

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 Schoo ...

, 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 t ...

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 a ...

, Dublin. In 1960 he founded '' MIMS Ireland'', a monthly index of medical specialties, and in 1967 he founded the ''

Irish Medical Times The ''Irish Medical Times'' is an weekly newspaper for Irish physicians. It was founded in 1967 by John O'Connell, who went on to become the Minister for Health. The paper contains news, features, clinical articles, interviews and opinion pi ...

'', a weekly broadsheet for doctors.

Political career

He began his political career when he was elected to Dáil Éireann 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

candidate, topping the poll, while Cluskey lost his seat. When the 22nd Dáil met in June 1981, O'Connell was elected as Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann. He resigned from the

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

. In March 1982, at the beginning of the 23rd Dáil, he was elected to the position again. However, in December 1982, when the 24th Dáil met, his nomination to the position was unsuccessful, being defeated by

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 � ...

TD Tom Fitzpatrick. 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

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

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...

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 from 1992 to 1994, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1992 to 1994, Minister for Finance from 1988 to 1991, Minister for Indust ...

' 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 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 MP, then leader of the British Labour Party, and Dáithí Ó Conaill, 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 (Ireland) Nominated members of Seanad Éireann Fianna Fáil senators People from Glasnevin Medical doctors from Dublin (city)