Michael Ferris (21 November 1931 – 20 March 2000) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served for more than twenty years as a member of the Oireachtas, as both a Senator and 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). Before becoming a full-time politician, he was secretary to a veterinary practice. Ferris was a native of

Bansha Bansha () is a village in County Tipperary in Ireland. The village is part of the parish of "Bansha and Kilmoyler" (united in 1858) in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. It is in the historical barony of Clanwilliam. Bansha i ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after t ...

. There, in the 1950s, he came under the influence of the Very Reverend Canon John Hayes, founder of

Muintir na Tíre Muintir na Tíre (, meaning "People of the Country") is a national Irish voluntary organisation that promotes community and rural development. Canon John Hayes John Martin Hayes (11 November 1887 – 30 January 1957) was an Irish Catholi ...

, and adopted many of his ideas for rural development embracing all sections of the community in an inclusive way. He was elected to the 13th Seanad by the

Agricultural Panel The Agricultural Panel () 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 Agricultural Panel elects eleven senators. Election Art ...

in a by-election on 23 April 1975. At the 1977 general election, he was an unsuccessful candidate for Dáil Éireann in the Tipperary South constituency, and was also defeated at the subsequent Seanad elections. He was re-elected in 1981 to the

15th Seanad This is a list of the members of the 15th Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These Senators were elected or appointed in 1981, after the 1981 general election and served until the close of poll for ...

, and returned again in 1982 and 1983. At the 1987 general election, Ferris unsuccessfully stood again in Tipperary South, but was afterwards re-elected to the 18th Seanad, again by the Agricultural Panel. In the 1989 election to the European Parliament he was defeated in the Munster constituency, trailing far behind his Labour colleague,

Eileen Desmond Eileen Christine Desmond (; 29 December 1932 – 6 January 2005) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Health and Minister for Social Welfare from 1981 to 1982. She served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1965 to 1969, 19 ...

, who narrowly missed a seat. However, polling for the 1989 general election was held on the same day, and he was finally elected to the Dáil, taking his seat in the 26th Dáil on his third attempt. He was re-elected at the 1992 general election and again at the 1997 general election, taking the last seat in each case. He died suddenly while on parliamentary business in Lisbon on 20 March 2000. The subsequent by-election for his Dáil seat was held on 2 June and won by an independent candidate,

Séamus Healy Séamus Healy (; born 9 August 1950) is a former Irish Independent politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 2000 to 2007 and 2011 to 2020. He is part of the Clonmel-based Workers and Unemployed Action (WUA) which had a number of loc ...

Personal life

Ferris championed the rural agricultural economy and was Chairman of the Bansha Agricultural and Industrial Show Society for a number of years. He was married twice, firstly to Josephine Tobin of

, and after her death to Ellen Kiely of Tipperary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferris, Michael 1931 births 2000 deaths Local councillors in South Tipperary Labour Party (Ireland) TDs Members of the 13th Seanad Members of the 15th Seanad Members of the 16th Seanad Members of the 17th Seanad Members of the 18th Seanad Members of the 26th Dáil Members of the 27th Dáil Members of the 28th Dáil Labour Party (Ireland) senators