Toddy O'Sullivan (8 November 1934 – 12 December 2021) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served for sixteen years 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 constituencies in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, and for five years as a

junior minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

. He also served as

Lord Mayor of Cork The Lord Mayor of Cork ( ga, Ard-Mhéara Chathair Chorcaí) is the honorific title of the Chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach) of Cork City Council which is the local government body for the city of Cork (city), Cork in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. ...

from 1980 to 1981.

Early life

A native of the Barrack Street area in the south inner-city area of Cork, O'Sullivan was educated at Greenmount National School before becoming a postal clerk.

Political career

A member of

Cork City Council Cork City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Chorcaí) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Cork in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Prior to the enactment of the 2001 Act, ...

, O'Sullivan was

for the 1980 to 1981 term. O'Sullivan first stood as a candidate for

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 ...

at the by-election on 7 November 1979 in the

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city' ...

constituency, following the death of Labour TD

Patrick Kerrigan Patrick Kerrigan (21 February 1928 – 4 July 1979) was an Irish Labour Party Senator and later a Teachta Dála (TD). A trade union official, Kerrigan was an unsuccessful candidate in the Cork City North-West constituency at the 1969 gene ...

. The by-election was won by

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 � ...

Liam Burke Liam Burke (2 February 1928 – 21 August 2005) was an Irish Fine Gael politician. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork North-Central constituency. Burke was elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1969 general election for Cork City North-Wes ...

, but O'Sullivan was successful at his next attempt, when he topped the poll at the 1981 general election in the new constituency of Cork North-Central. He was re-elected at the next five general elections, moving in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

to Cork South-Central, before losing his seat at the 1997 general election. He stood again at the by-election on 23 October 1998 in Cork South-Central following the death of Fine Gael TD

Hugh Coveney Hugh Coveney (20 July 1935 – 14 March 1998) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Minister of State at the Department of Finance from 1996 to 1997, Minister for the Marine and Minister for Defence from 1994 to 1995 and Lord Mayor of ...

, but the seat was won by Coveney's son

Simon Coveney Simon Coveney (born 16 June 1972) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment since December 2022 and Deputy Leader of Fine Gael since 2017. He previously served as Minister for Foreign Affai ...

Ministerial career

In February 1986 he was appointed Minister of State at the Department of the Environment. Along with the other Labour ministers, he resigned on 20 January 1987 in protest at proposed cuts in health spending, bringing about the coalition's collapse. Six years later, after the 1992 general election led to a coalition with

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- ...

, O'Sullivan became Chairman of the Dáil's Enterprise and Economic Strategy Committee. After the collapse of that government and its replacement with the

–Labour Party– Democratic Left Rainbow Coalition,

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 ...

John Bruton John Gerard Bruton (born 18 May 1947) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1994 to 1997, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States from 2004 to 2009, Leader of Fine Gael from 1990 to 2001, Leader of ...

appointed him in December 1994 as Minister of State at the Department of Tourism and Trade, a position he held until

returned to power at the 1997 general election.

Death

O'Sullivan died on 12 December 2021, at the age of 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osullivan, Toddy 1934 births 2021 deaths Labour Party (Ireland) TDs Lord Mayors of Cork Members of the 22nd Dáil Members of the 23rd Dáil Members of the 24th Dáil Members of the 25th Dáil Members of the 26th Dáil Members of the 27th Dáil Ministers of State of the 27th Dáil Ministers of State of the 24th Dáil