Michael Ring (born 24 December 1953) is an Irish

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 � ...

politician who has been 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

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

constituency since 1997, and previously from 1994 to 1997 for the Mayo West constituency. He served as

Minister for Rural and Community Development The Minister for Rural and Community Development (Irish: ''An tAire Forbartha Tuaithe agus Pobail'') is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Rural and Community Development. The current Minister for Rural ...

from 2017 to 2020 and as 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 2011 to 2017.

Early and personal life

Ring was born in

Westport, County Mayo Westport (, historically anglicised as ''Cahernamart'') is a town in County Mayo in Ireland.Westport Before 1800 by Michael Kelly published in Cathair Na Mart 2019 It is at the south-east corner of Clew Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean on th ...

, in 1953. He was educated at Westport CBS and the local vocational school. He later worked as an estate agent and auctioneer in Westport.

Political career

Ring was unsuccessful as a

candidate in the Mayo West constituency in the 1992 general election. However, he was elected at his second attempt in a

1994 by-election File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

. He was appointed to the Fine Gael Front Bench in 2002, as Spokesperson on Social and Family Affairs. Ring stepped down from the Front Bench in 2004, after an expected demotion, however, he returned in 2007 as Spokesperson on Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. On 10 March 2011, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport with responsibility for Tourism and Sport by the

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

of Fine Gael and the Labour Party led by Ring's constituency colleague

Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from ...

. This appointment lasted until the formation of a new government on 6 May. On 19 May 2016, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs with responsibility for Regional Economic Development by the new

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...

of Fine Gael and Independents led by Enda Kenny. He was appointed to

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

on 14 June 2017 as

in the new

of Fine Gael and Independents led by

Leo Varadkar Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish politician who has served as Taoiseach since December 2022, and previously from 2017 to 2020. He served as Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from June 2020 to De ...

. His appointment ended on 27 June 2020 on the formation of the new government.

References

External links

Michael Ring's page on the Fine Gael website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ring, Michael 1953 births Living people Alumni of the University of Galway Fine Gael TDs Irish auctioneers Local councillors in County Mayo Members of the 27th Dáil Members of the 28th Dáil Members of the 29th Dáil Members of the 30th Dáil Members of the 31st Dáil Members of the 32nd Dáil Ministers of State of the 31st Dáil Ministers of State of the 32nd Dáil People from Westport, County Mayo Members of the 33rd Dáil