Labhrás Ó Murchú (; born 14 August 1939) is the Director-General of

Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (; meaning "Society of the musicians of Ireland") is the primary Irish organisation dedicated to the promotion of the music, song, dance and the language of Ireland. The organisation was founded in 1951 and has pr ...

, and a retired member of

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...

for

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 ...

. Ó Murchú was born in Cashel,

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after ...

. He was a candidate in 1993 for election to the 20th Seanad by the

Cultural and Educational Panel The Cultural and Educational Panel () is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Cultural and Educational Panel elects five ...

, but was unsuccessful. In 1996 the

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Th ...

, Seán Dublin Bay Rockall Loftus, awarded him the Dublin City Lord Mayor's Award, in recognition of his many achievements in cultural and social work. He stood again for election to Seanad Éireann in 1997, nominated by Comhaltas rather than by Fianna Fáil, and was elected to the

21st Seanad This is a list of the members of the 21st Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. Unless otherwise indicated, these Senators were elected or appointed in 1997, after the 1997 general election and served unt ...

. He was re-elected in 2002 to the 22nd Seanad and in 2007 to the

23rd Seanad This is a list of the members of the 23rd Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These Senators were elected from 24 July 2007 onwards after postal voting closed. The Taoiseach's nominees were announced on ...

. In June 2010, Ó Murchú admitted that he stayed in CCE headquarters for €50 a night bed and breakfast while attending

Leinster House Leinster House ( ga, Teach Laighean) is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core ...

, but claimed a €126 overnight allowance. On 7 July 2010 he resigned the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

, along with

John Hanafin John Gerard Hanafin (born 27 September 1960) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician, who was a member of Seanad Éireann from 2002 to 2011. He was elected by the Labour Panel. Hanafin is the brother of the former cabinet minister Mary Hanafin ...

and Jim Walsh, in protest at the

Civil Partnership bill The Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced by the Labour government, which grants civil partnerships in the United Kingdom the rights and responsibilities very similar to those in civi ...

. He rejoined the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party on 23 November 2010. He was re-elected to the

24th Seanad This is a list of the members of the 24th Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These Senators were elected on 27 April 2011 after postal voting closed. The Taoiseach's nominees were announced on 20 May 20 ...

in 2011, despite pressure on him to resign in order to make way for newer Fianna Fáil candidates; this was a strategy devised by party leader

Micheál Martin Micheál Martin (; born 1 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who is serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence since December 2022. He served as Taoiseach from 2020 to 2022 and has been Leader of ...

in an attempt to recover from the party's disastrous result at the 2011 general election. Ó Murchú's re-election was credited to support from

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 Gr ...

voters who had not contested the panel. On 15 September 2011, at a meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party, the issue of the 2011 presidential election was raised. Unexpectedly, Ó Murchú sought to run as an independent candidate. This was widely seen as a challenge to the authority of Micheál Martin. The extended meeting broke up without agreement. The parliamentary party met again on 20 September. Ó Murchú withdrew his request for a nomination and a motion was passed that the party's

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the bicameral parliament of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The two houses of the Oireachtas ( ga, Tithe an Oireachtais): ** Dáil Éireann ...

members would not nominate or endorse any candidate. In 2012, Ó Murchú was listed as having the worst attendance record of any Senator, having missed 19 of 61 votes. The ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

'' newspaper later published an apology, because Ó Murchú's absence was owing to his wife's illness while on a business trip to the United States of America. He was the Fianna Fáil Seanad spokesperson on Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Omurchu, Labhras 1939 births Living people Fianna Fáil senators Members of the 21st Seanad Members of the 22nd Seanad Members of the 23rd Seanad Members of the 24th Seanad Politicians from County Tipperary