Kathleen O'Connor (30 July 1934 – 13 December 2017) was an Irish

Clann na Poblachta Clann na Poblachta (; "Family/Children of the Republic") was an Irish republican political party founded in 1946 by Seán MacBride, a former Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army. Foundation Clann na Poblachta was officially launched on ...

politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kerry North constituency from 1956 to 1957. In 1954, her father

Johnny Connor John O'Connor (1 July 1899 – 11 December 1955), known politically as Johnny Connor, was an Irish Clann na Poblachta politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kerry North constituency from 1954 to 1955. Soldier O'Connor was born i ...

had been elected to the Dáil on his third attempt as a candidate for Clann na Poblachta. During her father's stint as a TD, she had also been in Dublin training to become a National School teacher, at Carysfort College and she taught at Meen National School, Knocknagoshel. During her spare time she would offer work at her father's office as his de facto secretary and thus was familiar with the ins and outs of his job. Tragedy struck in December 1955, when Johnny Connor was killed in a traffic accident as he was returning to his home in

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 ...

. Following the funeral, Seán MacBride, leader of Clann na Poblachta, asked O'Connor's mother, Margaret, to stand in the forthcoming by-election for her husband's seat. When she refused, MacBride turned to O'Connor and pleaded with her to stand, saying that she was Clann na Poblachta's only hope for survival, as the party's fortunes had greatly soured after the

first Inter-Party Government First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

of 1951. Also, the loss of her father's seat to a Fianna Fáil candidate could have caused the collapse of the

Government of the 15th Dáil The Government of the 15th Dáil or the 7th Government of Ireland (2 June 1954 – 20 March 1957) was the government of Ireland formed after the general election held on 18 May 1954. Commonly known as the Second Inter-Party Government, it was a ...

, which held only a small majority of seats. The by-election for his Dáil seat was held on 29 February 1956. All of the parties that were members of the government ( Fine Gael,

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

, and

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 ...

) agreed not to run candidates as a means to bolster O'Connor, and on top of this the leaders of all three parties (

John A. Costello John Aloysius Costello (20 June 1891 – 5 January 1976) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957, Leader of the Opposition from 1951 to 1954 and from 1957 to 1959, and Attorney General of ...

William Norton William Joseph Norton (2 November 1900 – 4 December 1963) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957, Leader of the Labour Party from 1932 to 1960, Minister for Social Welfare from ...

Joseph Blowick Joseph Blowick (13 March 1903 – 12 August 1970) was an Irish Clann na Talmhan politician who served as Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Minister for Lands from 1948 to 1951 and 1954 to 1957 and Clann na Talmhan, Leader ...

) visited the constituency during the campaign. In response, Fianna Fáil also brought in party members to campaign and the Taoiseach Éamon de Valera. It all ended with a victory for O'Connor, then only 21-years-old. She became the youngest TD ever at that time and was in fact so young she was still not registered to vote. She did not stand at the 1957 general election, and retired from politics. She was 21 years, 7 months old when elected, making her the fourth youngest ever person elected to the Dáil. She was the first woman to succeed her father at a by-election to Dáil Éireann and the first woman elected to the Dáil in the Kerry North constituency.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Kathleen 1934 births 2017 deaths Clann na Poblachta TDs Irish schoolteachers Members of the 15th Dáil 20th-century women Teachtaí Dála Politicians from County Kerry Alumni of Carysfort College

See also

References