Rory O'Hanlon (born 7 February 1934) 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 Christia ...

politician who served as Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann from 2002 to 2007,

Leas-Cheann Comhairle The (; "Head of heCouncil"; plural usually ) is the chairman, chairperson (or speaker (politics), speaker) of , the lower house of the (parliament) of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The person who holds the position is elected by members ...

of Dáil Éireann from 1997 to 2002, Minister for the Environment from 1991 to 1992,

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

from 1987 to 1991 and Minister of State for Social Welfare Claims in 1982. 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 Cavan–Monaghan constituency from 1977 to 2011.

Early life

Born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

in 1934, O'Hanlon was brought up in a family that had a strong association with the

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

tradition. His father was a member of the Fourth Northern Division of the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...

during the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List o ...

. O'Hanlon was educated at

Mullaghbawn Mullaghbawn ( or ; ), or Mullaghbane, is a small village and townland near Slieve Gullion in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 596. History A barracks was built near Mullaghbawn in 1689 and was known ...

National School, before later attending St. Mary's College,

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

and

Blackrock College Blackrock College ( ga, Coláiste na Carraige Duibhe) is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school for boys aged 13–18, in Williamstown, Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded by French missionary Jules Leman in 186 ...

in Dublin. He subsequently studied medicine at

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 member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

and qualified as a doctor. In 1965 he was appointed to Carrickmacross as the local general practitioner and was the medical representative on the North Eastern Health Board from its inception in 1970 until 1987.

Political career

Beginnings

O'Hanlon entered his first electoral contest when he was the

candidate in the 1973 Monaghan by-election caused by the election of Erskine Childers to the

Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

. He was unsuccessful on this occasion but was eventually elected at the 1977 general election for the Cavan–Monaghan constituency. O'Hanlon was one of a handful of new Fianna Fáil deputies who were elected in that landslide victory for the party and, as a new TD, he remained on the backbenches. Two years later he became a member of

Monaghan County Council Monaghan County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Mhuineacháin) is the authority responsible for local government in County Monaghan, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for ho ...

, serving on that authority until 1987. In 1979 Jack Lynch suddenly resigned as

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of 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 legislature) and the o ...

and leader of Fianna Fáil. The subsequent leadership election resulted in a straight contest between

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 ...

and

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 ...

. The latter had the backing of the majority of the existing cabinet, however, a backbench revolt saw Haughey become Taoiseach. O'Hanlon had supported Colley and was thus overlooked for appointment to the new ministerial and junior ministerial positions. In spite of this he did become a member of the powerful Public Accounts Committee in the Oireachtas. When Fianna Fáil returned to power after a short-lived

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 government in 1982, O'Hanlon was once again overlooked for ministerial promotion. An extensive cabinet reshuffle towards the end of the year saw O'Hanlon become Minister of State for Social Welfare Payments. His tenure was short-lived as the government fell a few weeks later and Fianna Fáil were out of power.

Government minister

In early 1983, Charles Haughey announced a new front bench and O'Hanlon was promoted to the position of spokesperson on Health and Social Welfare. Following the 1987 general election, Fianna Fáil were back in power, albeit with a minority government, and O'Hanlon became

. Immediately after taking office, he was confronted with a number of controversial issues, including the resolution of a radiographers' dispute and the formation of an

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

awareness campaign. While Fianna Fáil campaigned on a platform of not introducing any public spending cuts, the party committed a complete

u-turn A U-turn in driving refers to performing a 180° rotation to reverse the direction of travel. It is called a "U-turn" because the maneuver looks like the letter U. In some areas, the maneuver is illegal, while in others, it is treated as a ...

once in government. The savage cuts in relation to healthcare earned O'Hanlon the nickname "Dr. Death". In spite of earning this reputation, O'Hanlon also introduced law to curb smoking in public places. O'Hanlon's handling of the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...

meant that he was one of the names tipped for promotion as a result of

Ray MacSharry Ray MacSharry (born 29 April 1938) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Tánaiste from March 1982 to December 1982, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development from 1989 to 1993, Minister for the Public Servic ...

departure as Minister for Finance. In the end, he was retained as Minister for Health and was disappointed not to be given a new portfolio following the 1989 general election. In 1991, O'Hanlon became Minister for the Environment following

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 Indust ...

' failed leadership challenge against Charles Haughey. When Reynolds eventually came to power in 1992, O'Hanlon was one of several high-profile members of the cabinet who lost their ministerial positions.

Post-cabinet career

In 1995, O'Hanlon became chairman of the Fianna Fáil

parliamentary party A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council. Parliame ...

before being elected

(Deputy Chairman) of Dáil Éireann in 1997. Following the 2002 general election, O'Hanlon became Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann. In this position, he was required to remain neutral and, as such, he was no longer classed as a representative of any political party. He was an active chairman of the Dáil; however, on occasion, he was criticised, most notably by Labour's

Pat Rabbitte Pat Rabbitte (born 18 May 1949) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources from 2011 to 2014, Leader of the Labour Party from 2002 to 2007 and a Minister of State from 19 ...

, for allegedly stifling debate and being overly protective of the government. Following the 2007 general election, he was succeeded as Ceann Comhairle by John O'Donoghue. He was the Vice-Chairman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs. He retired from politics at the 2011 general election.

Personal life

Two of O'Hanlon's children have served as local politicians in Cavan–Monaghan, a son Shane is a former member of Monaghan County Council and a daughter Fiona O'Hea served one term on

Cootehill Cootehill (; ) is a market town and townland in County Cavan, Ireland. Cootehill was formerly part of the neighbouring townland of Munnilly. Both townlands lie within the barony of Tullygarvey. The English language name of the town is a port ...

Town Council while the

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 G ...

TD Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, is also a relation of O'Hanlon. He is also the father of actor and comedian

Ardal O'Hanlon Ardal O'Hanlon (; born 8 October 1965) is an Irish comedian, actor, and author. He played Father Dougal McGuire in ''Father Ted'' (1995–1998), George Sunday/Thermoman in '' My Hero'' (2000–2005), and DI Jack Mooney in '' Death in Paradise'' ...

References