Sylvester Aidan Barrett (18 May 1926 – 8 May 2002) 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. He served under

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 ...

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 ...

as Minister for the Environment (1977–1980) and

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

(1980–1981). Sylvester Barrett was born in Darragh, near

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 County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

, in 1926. His father Frank, who was a founder-member of

, and his mother Delia Costello, both died in 1931. As a result, he was raised by an uncle and aunt. Barrett was educated at Ballyea National School and St Flannan's College in Ennis. He studied engineering at

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 ...

, though did not complete his studies. He was a cadet in the

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The Ar ...

and later worked as a rate collector and an auctioneer. He was elected to

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 ...

on 14 March 1968 at the

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 ...

in the Clare constituency, held following the death of

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 � ...

TD William Murphy. Barrett topped the poll at the general election the following year. At the 1973 general election Fianna Fáil lost office to a Fine Gael– Labour Party coalition government under

Liam Cosgrave Liam Cosgrave (13 April 1920 – 4 October 2017) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1973 to 1977, Leader of Fine Gael from 1965 to 1977, Leader of the Opposition from 1965 to 1973, Minister for External Affairs from ...

, and Barrett was appointed to the party's front bench as spokesperson on Transport and Power. After Fianna Fáil's landslide victory at the 1977 general election he was appointed to the

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 ...

as Minister for the Environment. Barrett supported

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 ...

in the

1979 Fianna Fáil leadership election The 1979 Fianna Fáil leadership election began in December 1979, when Jack Lynch resigned as party leader and Taoiseach. Lynch had been party leader for thirteen years and Taoiseach for over nine years. His successor was elected by the member ...

. Charles Haughey was the eventual victor, but Barrett was retained in the cabinet in the Environment position. Following a reshuffle in 1980 he was appointed

. After the February 1982 general election Fianna Fáil were returned to office, but Barrett was not appointed to cabinet. However, he was appointed a

Minister of State at the Department of Finance The Minister of State at the Department of Finance is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Finance of the Government of Ireland. A Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed u ...

. In October 1982, when Charlie McCreevy put down a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

in Haughey's leadership, Barrett was the only Minister of State among the so-called

Gang of 22 The Gang of 22 was a group of Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála, TDs (members of parliament) who were opposed to the leadership of Charles Haughey in the early 1980s. The very evident division within the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary group, parliamentary ...

who supported it; Haughey survived, and did not dismiss Barrett from office. The following month he topped the poll at the November 1982 general election. Fianna Fáil were out of government again, and Barrett was appointed to the front bench as spokesperson on Defence. He remained there until 1984, when he won a seat in the

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

constituency at the

European Parliament election Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are considered the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's. Unti ...

and was replaced on the front bench by

Noel Treacy Noel Treacy (18 December 1951 – 2 February 2022) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway East constituency from 1982 to 2011. He served as Minister of State in a number of departments over his c ...

. He did not contest either the 1987 general election or the

1989 European Parliament election The 1989 European Parliament election was a European election held across the 12 European Community member states in June 1989. It was the third European election but the first time that Spain and Portugal voted at the same time as the other m ...

, and retired from politics. He died on 8 May 2002.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, Sylvester 1926 births 2002 deaths Fianna Fáil MEPs Fianna Fáil TDs Irish Army soldiers Irish auctioneers Members of the 18th Dáil Members of the 19th Dáil Members of the 20th Dáil Members of the 21st Dáil Members of the 22nd Dáil Members of the 23rd Dáil Members of the 24th Dáil MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 1984–1989 Ministers for Defence (Ireland) Ministers for the Environment (Ireland) Ministers of State of the 23rd Dáil People educated at St Flannan's College Politicians from County Clare People associated with the University of Galway