Denis Gallagher (23 November 1922 – 3 November 2001) 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 Christia ...

politician. He served as Minister for the Gaeltacht on two occasions.

Early life

Denis Gallagher was born in Currane, by

Clew Bay Clew Bay (; ga, Cuan Mó) is a natural ocean bay in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland. It contains Ireland's best example of sunken drumlins. The bay is overlooked by Croagh Patrick to the south and the Nephin Range mountains of North Mayo. Cla ...

, facing

Achill Island Achill Island (; ga, Acaill, Oileán Acla) in County Mayo is the largest of the Irish isles, and is situated off the west coast of Ireland. It has a population of 2,594. Its area is . Achill is attached to the mainland by Michael Davitt Br ...

, County Mayo in 1922, the son of John Gallagher, a merchant, and his wife Catherine (née Gallagher). He grew up speaking English and Irish. He was educated locally and at Coláiste Éinde in

Salthill Salthill () is a seaside area in the City of Galway in the west of Ireland. Lying within the townland of Lenaboy (''an Léana Buí''), it attracts many tourists all year round. There is a 2 km long promenade, locally known as ''the Pro ...

. He qualified as a national school teacher having graduated from St Patrick's College in Drumcondra,

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 ...

. He taught in

Drimnagh Drimnagh () is a suburb in Dublin, Ireland to the south of the city between Walkinstown, Crumlin and Inchicore, bordered by the Grand Canal to the north and east. Drimnagh is in postal district Dublin 12. History Early to mediaeval Drimna ...

in Dublin for several years before returning to Mayo in 1946 to take up a teaching post. He married Hannah McHugh of Keel West, Achill in 1948, and they had twelve children.

Politics

Gallagher stood as a

Clann na Poblachta Clann na Poblachta (; "Family/Children of the Republic") was an Irish republican political party founded in 1946 by Seán MacBride, a former Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army. Foundation Clann na Poblachta was officially launched o ...

candidate at the 1954 general election for Mayo North but was not elected. In the 1960s Gallagher changed allegiance and became a member of

. He was elected to Mayo County Council in 1967 and was elected to Dáil Éireann on his third attempt at the 1973 general election for the Mayo West constituency. In 1974, he was appointed Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Fisheries. Fianna Fáil won the 1977 general election and Jack Lynch became Taoiseach. He appointed Gallagher as Minister for the Gaeltacht. He was an active minister with an interest in

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

affairs. In the 1979 leadership contest Gallagher 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 ...

. However,

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 ...

won the election, becoming

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 Gallagher lost his position in cabinet. In March 1980, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Industry, Commerce and Tourism He served in this role until the Fianna Fáil lost office in June 1981. His main achievement as minister was the establishment in 1979 of a new

gaeltacht ( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially reco ...

authority,

Údarás na Gaeltachta Údarás na Gaeltachta (; meaning "Gaeltacht Authority"), abbreviated UnaG, is a regional state agency which is responsible for the economic, social and cultural development of Irish-speaking (Gaeltacht) regions of Ireland. Its stated purpose is ...

. Fianna Fáil returned to government in March 1982. In October 1982, following the resignations of Martin O'Donoghue and

Desmond O'Malley Desmond Joseph O'Malley (2 February 1939 – 21 July 2021) was an Irish politician who served as Minister for Industry and Commerce from 1977 to 1981 and 1989 to 1992, Leader of the Progressive Democrats from 1985 to 1993, Minister for Trade, ...

from the cabinet, Gallagher returned as Minister for the Gaeltacht. He remained in that post until December when

went into opposition. Following the 1987 general election, Fianna Fáil returned to government. Haughey appointed himself as Minister for the Gaeltacht as well as Taoiseach, with Gallagher as Minister of State at the Department of the Gaeltacht. Gallagher retired from politics at the 1989 general election. After his retirement, he worked to advance the Irish language cause and also served as chairman of the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include t ...

in Mayo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallagher, Denis 1922 births 2001 deaths Alumni of St Patrick's College, Dublin Clann na Poblachta politicians Fianna Fáil TDs Irish schoolteachers 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 Members of the 25th Dáil Ministers of State of the 25th Dáil Ministers of State of the 23rd Dáil Ministers of State of the 21st Dáil People educated at Coláiste Éinde Politicians from County Mayo