Michael Paschal Kitt (born 17 May 1950) is a former 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

Leas-Cheann 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 a ...

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 ...

from 2011 to 2016, a

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

from 1991 to 1992, and from 2007 to 2009. 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 Galway East constituency from 1975–77, 1981–2002, and 2007–16. 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 ...

from 2002 to 2007, after being

Nominated by the Taoiseach A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

and from 1977 to 1981 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 ...

. Born in

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bron ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, Kitt was educated

St Jarlath's College St Jarlath's College () is a Catholic secondary school for young men in Tuam, County Galway. The college was founded in 1800 and in 2009 absorbed St. Patrick's College, Tuam. The College, which operates under patronage of the Archbishop of Tuam, ...

;

St Patrick's College of Education St Patrick's College ( ga, Coláiste Phádraig), often known as St Pat's, was a third level institution in Ireland, the leading function of which was as the country's largest primary teacher training college, which had at one time up to 2,000 s ...

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

;

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 ...

and

University College Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

. He qualified as a teacher before becoming involved in politics. In 1975, following the death of his father,

Michael F. Kitt Michael F. Kitt (13 September 1914 – 24 December 1974) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and long-serving Teachta Dála (TD). Kitt was born in Mountbellew, County Galway, the son of Thomas Kitt, master of Mountbellew workhouse, and Kathle ...

, he was elected to succeed his father on

Galway County Council Galway County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae na Gaillimhe) is the authority responsible for local government in County Galway, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housin ...

. In the Galway North-East

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

on 4 March he was elected to the 20th Dáil, being returned on the first count with a 7% majority over the

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 � ...

candidate Paul Connaughton Snr. Kitt lost his Dáil seat at the 1977 general election but was subsequently elected 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 ...

by the

, serving until 1981 as a member of the

14th Seanad This is a list of the members of the 14th Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These Senators were elected or appointed in 1977, after the 1977 general election and served until the close of poll for the ...

. He was re-elected to the Dáil at the 1981 general election for the new Galway East and retained his seat until 2002. During this period he served as a

Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach The Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach is a junior ministerial post in the Department of the Taoiseach of the Government of Ireland who performs duties and functions delegated by the Taoiseach. The position was first created ...

for three months from November 1991 to February 1992. He lost his Dáil seat at the 2002 general election but was subsequently

nominated by the Taoiseach A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

to serve as a member of the 22nd Seanad. He was re-elected to the Dáil at the 2007 general election. In June 2007, he was appointed by

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...

Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs The Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Ireland who may perform functions delegated by the Minister for Foreign Affairs. A Minister of Stat ...

with responsibility for Overseas Development. In May 2008, when

Brian Cowen Brian Bernard Cowen (born 10 January 1960) is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011. Cowen was elected to Dáil Éireann in 1984, for the constituency of Laois–Offaly and served in a ...

succeeded as Taoiseach, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government with special responsibility for Local Services. He served in this position until April 2009 when he was dropped when Cowen reduced the number of junior ministers from 20 to 15. On 31 March 2011, he was elected as

, serving for the

31st Dáil 31 (thirty-one) is the natural number following 30 and preceding 32. It is a prime number. In mathematics 31 is the 11th prime number. It is a superprime and a self prime (after 3, 5, and 7), as no integer added up to its base 10 digits ...

. He did not contest the 2016 general election and retired from politics. Michael Kitt comes from a strongly political family. He is a son of

, who was a TD for various Galway constituencies (1948–1951 and 1957–1975), and a brother of Tom Kitt, a TD for Dublin South from 1987 to 2011, and of

Áine Brady Áine Brady (; born 8 September 1954) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Minister of State from 2009 to 2011. She was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kildare North constituency from 2007 to 2011. She was Fianna Fáil's you ...

, a TD for Kildare North from 2007 to 2011. His brother-in-law

Gerry Brady Gerard Brady (born 1948) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician and Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kildare constituency. He was elected at the February 1982 general election to the 23rd Dáil, but at the November 1982 general election he lo ...

also served as TD for Kildare in 1982.

References

See also

References