Michael O'Kennedy (21 February 1936 – 15 April 2022) was an Irish
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 Christian- ...
politician who served as
Minister for Labour from 1991 to 1992,
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from 1987 to 1991,
European Commissioner for Personnel, Administration and the Statistics Office from 1981 to 1982,
Minister for Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...
and
Minister for the Public Service from 1979 to 1980,
Minister for Economic Planning and Development from 1979 to 1980,
Minister for Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...
from 1977 to 1979,
Minister for Transport and Power from January 1973 to March 1973,
minister without portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...
from 1972 to 1973 and
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education from 1970 to 1973. 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) for the
Tipperary North constituency from 1969 to 1981, 1982 to 1992 and 1997 to 2002. He was a
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
for the
Cultural and Educational Panel
The Cultural and Educational 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 Cultural and Educational Panel elects five s ...
from 1965 to 1969, and for the
Administrative Panel
The Administrative 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 Administrative Panel elects seven senators.
Election
...
from 1993 to 1997.
Early life
O'Kennedy was born in
Nenagh
Nenagh (, ; or simply ''An tAonach'') meaning “The Fair of Ormond” or simply "The Fair", is the county town and second largest town in County Tipperary in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the ...
, County Tipperary, into a family that had strong links to
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
and the
Old IRA. He was educated locally at St. Mary's national school before later attending
St Flannan's College
Saint Flannan's College is an Irish co-educational secondary school located in Ennis, County Clare, which takes its name from the 7th century patron saint of the Dál gCais. Formerly an all-boys boarding school, the first girls class was entere ...
in
Ennis
Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...
, County Clare. He briefly studied for the priesthood at
St Patrick's College, Maynooth
St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland. ...
, where he was a contemporary of future
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland ...
leader
John Hume
John Hume (18 January 19373 August 2020) was an Irish nationalist politician from Northern Ireland, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the recent political history of Ireland, as one of the architects of the Northern Irela ...
. After securing first place in a university scholarship in 1953, O'Kennedy obtained an
MA degree from
University College Dublin
University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...
. He taught in Switzerland for a while, before resuming his legal studies; he was subsequently
called to the Bar
The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
in 1961. Twelve years later he was appointed
Senior Counsel
The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdicti ...
.
Political career
Beginnings
O'Kennedy joined
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 Christian- ...
in 1957, and became an active member of the party. He contested the
1965 general election in
Tipperary North, however, he narrowly failed to win a seat. He later secured election to
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house).
It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...
where he became party spokesperson on a range of issues including finance and education.
O'Kennedy contested the
1969 general election and was successful in securing a seat in
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 ...
.
He remained on the backbenches until 1970, when the
Arms Crisis
The Arms Crisis was a political scandal in the Republic of Ireland in 1970 in which Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney were dismissed as cabinet ministers for alleged involvement in a conspiracy to smuggle arms to the Irish Republican Army in North ...
resulted in a major reshuffle at cabinet and junior ministerial levels. O'Kennedy became
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education.
In December 1972, a cabinet reshuffle by
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Jack Lynch
John Mary Lynch (15 August 1917 – 20 October 1999) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1966 to 1979, Leader of the Opposition from 1973 to 1977, Minister ...
saw O'Kennedy join the cabinet as
minister without portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...
. There was much speculation as to what portfolio he would take, however, the new year saw him become
Minister for Transport and Power. His tenure was short-lived, for the
1973 general election saw 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 ...
–
Labour Party coalition government come to power.
Immediately after Fianna Fáil's loss of power O'Kennedy was appointed Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs. He retained the same brief in a 1975 front bench reshuffle. It was after this reshuffle that he revealed his future leadership aspirations as he became associated with a hardline policy document regarding Northern Ireland. The document called for a complete and immediate withdrawal of the
British Government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_es ...
from Northern Ireland. This new policy opened up the old divisions in Fianna Fáil that had come to light during the Arms Crisis in 1970. It was also against the wishes of the party and was at odds with party policy; however, O'Kennedy's new policy was welcomed by the hardline Republican element at grassroots level within the party.
Cabinet Minister and European Commissioner
The
1977 general election saw Fianna Fáil return to power with a massive twenty-seat majority in the Dáil. O'Kennedy was appointed
Minister for Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...
in Jack Lynch's new cabinet.
In 1979, Lynch suddenly announced his resignation as Taoiseach and as Fianna Fáil leader. The subsequent
leadership contest was a straight battle between
George Colley
George Colley (18 October 1925 – 17 September 1983) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Tánaiste from 1977 to 1981, Minister for Energy from 1980 to 1981, Minister for Tourism and Transport from 1979 to 1980, Minister for ...
and
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 ...
. Colley was the favoured choice of the outgoing leadership and of the majority of the cabinet, while Haughey had the backing of a large rump of backbench TDs who had become disillusioned with the party leadership. On the day before the crucial vote, O'Kennedy came out as the only cabinet minister to publicly endorse Haughey. Many believe that it was because of this support that Haughey was successful in becoming Taoiseach, albeit by a narrow margin of just six votes. O'Kennedy's loyalty was rewarded when he was appointed
Minister for Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...
in the new government.
O'Kennedy's tenure as Minister for Finance was short-lived, delivering a stringent budget, as he took up the position of
European Commissioner
A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by the President of the European Commission. In simple terms they are the equivalent ...
in January 1981. Because of his new appointment in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
he also resigned his Dáil seat. O'Kennedy took over as
European Commissioner for Personnel, Administration and the Statistics Office and was disappointed not to be made vice-president in the
Thorn Commission
The Thorn Commission was the European Commission that held office from 6 January 1981 until 5 January 1985. Its President was Gaston Thorn.
Work
It was the successor to the Jenkins Commission and was succeeded by the Delors Commission. With ...
. He was, however, made delegate to the president.
O'Kennedy's tenure in the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
was an unhappy one. He quickly grew bored of the mundane day-to-day work as a commissioner and missed the cut-and-thrust nature of Irish politics, which was going through a particularly unstable period. A general election was called for
February 1982 and O'Kennedy decided to return to contest his old seat. His gamble paid off as he was returned to the Dáil for Tipperary North once again and he resigned as a European Commissioner. O'Kennedy's return was seen as an attempt to assert his claim to the future leadership of Fianna Fáil, something that had been a contentious issue under Haughey and his failure to secure an overall majority in two elections. Fianna Fáil returned to power with the help of a number of Independent TDs and O'Kennedy demanded a senior government position. His request was refused. Haughey did offer him the post of
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
but O'Kennedy declined. As a result, he was left out of the short-lived administration.
The government fell in October of that same year, and Fianna Fáil lost power at the
subsequent general election. A period of instability followed within Fianna Fáil as a number of TDs attempted to oust Charles Haughey as party leader.
Desmond O'Malley
Desmond Joseph O'Malley (2 February 1939 – 21 July 2021) was an Irish politician who served as Minister for Industry and Commerce from 1977 to 1981 and 1989 to 1992, Leader of the Progressive Democrats from 1985 to 1993, Minister for Trade, ...
was seen as the clear front-runner to succeed Haughey, however, O'Kennedy's name was also mentioned alongside other party stalwarts like
Gerry Collins and
Brian Lenihan. In the end Haughey survived as party leader.
Return to cabinet
Following the
1987 general election, Haughey was again Taoiseach and O'Kennedy returned to the cabinet as
Minister for Agriculture and Food. For someone with the experience of O'Kennedy this may have seemed like a demotion, however, his near five-year tenure received praise from farming circles.
In November 1991, tensions arose within Fianna Fáil regarding the continued leadership of Haughey. Minister for Finance
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 Industry ...
directly challenged the party leader and Taoiseach, however, the challenge failed. O'Kennedy supported the incumbent leader throughout the heave, and took over as
Minister for Labour in the subsequent reshuffle. Once again this was viewed as a demotion, however, O'Kennedy viewed his role as one of the most important in the cabinet considering the high rate of unemployment.
In February 1992, Haughey eventually stepped down as Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader and Albert Reynolds won the
subsequent leadership election by a large majority. The formation of his new cabinet caused widespread shock as O'Kennedy and seven of his cabinet colleagues were effectively sacked in favour of supporters of the new Taoiseach. This effectively brought his cabinet career to an end.
Later years
Worse was to follow as O'Kennedy lost his seat at the
1992 general election, in what turned out to be a disaster for Fianna Fáil. He subsequently secured election to Seanad Éireann for the second time in his career.
O'Kennedy was re-elected to the Dáil at the
1997 general election. That same year he sought the Fianna Fáil nomination for
President of Ireland
The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces.
The president holds office for seven years, and can ...
, but received only 21 votes out of a total of 112, as
Mary McAleese
Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ga, Máire Pádraigín Mhic Ghiolla Íosa; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer and former politician who served as the eighth president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. She is an academic ...
became the party's nominee and eventual victor of the
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
.
After the
2002 general election, O'Kennedy retired from national politics. He returned to work as a barrister and subsequently became a member of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal.
O'Kennedy died on 15 April 2022, aged 86.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okennedy, Michael
1936 births
2022 deaths
Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth
Alumni of University College Dublin
Fianna Fáil senators
Fianna Fáil TDs
Irish European Commissioners
Members of the 11th Seanad
Members of the 19th Dáil
Members of the 20th Dáil
Members of the 21st Dáil
Members of the 23rd Dáil
Members of the 24th Dáil
Members of the 25th Dáil
Members of the 26th Dáil
Members of the 20th Seanad
Members of the 28th Dáil
Ministers for Agriculture (Ireland)
Ministers for Finance (Ireland)
Ministers for Foreign Affairs (Ireland)
Ministers for Transport (Ireland)
Parliamentary Secretaries of the 19th Dáil
People educated at St Flannan's College
People from Nenagh
Politicians from County Tipperary
Alumni of King's Inns
European Commissioners 1981–1985