Mark A. Clinton (7 February 1915 – 23 December 2001) was an Irish

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 � ...

politician who served as Minister for Agriculture from 1973 to 1977. He served as

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) for the

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

constituency from 1979 to 1989. 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) from 1961 to 1981. Clinton was born to a farming family at

Moynalty Moynalty () is a village in the north-west of County Meath in Ireland. It is located at the junction of the R194 and R164 regional roads north of Kells, near the border with County Cavan. It was part of the Kells Poor Law Union. The Boro ...

, Kells,

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

, in February 1915. He was known as an accomplished Gaelic footballer in his youth and played on the Meath county team defeated by

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...

in the

1939 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final The 1939 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was the 52nd All-Ireland Final and the deciding match of the 1939 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, an inter-county Gaelic football tournament for the top teams in Ireland. Kerry ...

. He served as a member of

Dublin County Council Dublin County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Bhaile Átha Cliath) was a local authority for the administrative county of County Dublin in Ireland. History The county council was established by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. Its headquart ...

from 1955 and represented various

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

constituencies as a Fine Gael

(TD) from 1961 until his retirement from Dáil Éireann in 1981. In 1973 he joined the

Irish Government The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The gover ...

of Liam Cosgrave as Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries in the

National Coalition The National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces ( ar, الائتلاف الوطني لقوى الثورة والمعارضة السورية), commonly named the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) ( ar, الائتلاف الو ...

. Clinton is best remembered as the Agriculture Minister who negotiated

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

's entry into the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

Common Agricultural Policy The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the agricultural policy of the European Union. It implements a system of agricultural subsidies and other programmes. It was introduced in 1962 and has since then undergone several changes to reduce the ...

, a development which brought billions of pounds to Irish farming and agri business. He served in government until 1977 and retired from the Dáil in 1981. Clinton also served in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

for the

constituency from 1979 to 1989 and his political experience was recognised by his election as vice-president of that assembly. Mark Clinton died in a

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 ...

nursing home on 23 December 2001.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clinton, Mark 1915 births 2001 deaths Fine Gael MEPs Fine Gael TDs Irish sportsperson-politicians Meath inter-county Gaelic footballers Members of the 17th Dáil Members of the 18th Dáil Members of the 19th Dáil Members of the 20th Dáil Members of the 21st Dáil MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 1984–1989 MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 1979–1984 Ministers for Agriculture (Ireland) Politicians from County Meath