Pat Carey (born 9 November 1947) is a former 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 was 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 Parl ...

(TD) for the Dublin North-West constituency from 1997 to 2011. He served as the Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs from 2010 to 2011, and also as Government Chief Whip from 2008 to 2010.

Early and private life

Carey was born in

Castlemaine Castlemaine may mean: * Castlemaine, Victoria, a town in Victoria, Australia ** Castlemaine Football Club, an Australian rules football club ** Castlemaine railway station * Castlemaine, County Kerry, a town in Ireland * Castlemaine Brewery, Western ...

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

in 1947. He was educated at Presentation Brothers College, Milltown, County Kerry and went to St. Patrick's College in Drumcondra, Dublin to complete his teacher training. He subsequently studied at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

and

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

where he received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree and a H.Dip. in Education respectively. Before entering politics Carey was a national school teacher and a deputy principal. Since leaving office, Carey came out as gay, and voiced support for the 2015 marriage equality referendum, saying "My only regret is that I didn't have the courage or confidence to ome out while in politics When I look back it's an awful pity I didn't feel able to do that. Nobody stopped me, but I wasn't sure how it would be received."

Political career

Carey entered local politics in 1985 when he was elected to

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Dublin in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the council was ...

for the

Finglas Finglas (; ) is a northwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It lies close to Junction 5 of the M50 motorway, and the N2 road. Nearby suburbs include Glasnevin and Ballymun; Dublin Airport is to the north. Finglas lies mainly in the posta ...

area. He remained on the council until the abolition of the

dual mandate A dual mandate is the practice in which elected officials serve in more than one elected or other public position simultaneously. This practice is sometimes known as double jobbing in Britain and ''cumul des mandats'' in France; not to be confused ...

in 2003. He was elected as a

(TD) for the constituency of Dublin North-West at the 1997 general election, defeating the sitting

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 É ...

TD Mary Flaherty to win a second seat for the Fianna Fáil in the 4-seater constituency. He was re-elected at the 2002 general election. Re-elected at the 2007 general election, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs with special responsibility for Drugs Strategy and Community Affairs. When

Brian Cowen Brian Bernard Cowen (born 10 January 1960) is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011. Cowen was elected to Dáil Éireann in 1984, for the constituency of Laois–Offaly and served in a ...

became Taoiseach in May 2008, Carey was appointed as

Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach The Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach is a junior ministerial post in the Department of the Taoiseach of the Government of Ireland who performs duties and functions delegated by the Taoiseach. The position was first created ...

with responsibility as Government Chief Whip and Active Citizenship and as

Minister of State at the Department of Defence The Minister of State at the Department of Defence ( ga, Aire Stáit ag an Roinn Cosanta) is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Defence of the Government of Ireland who performs duties and functions delegated by the Minister for Defe ...

. On 23 March 2010, he was appointed as Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs. On 20 January 2011, Carey was also appointed as

Minister for Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

, following the resignation of Noel Dempsey. On 23 January 2011, Carey was also appointed as Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, following the resignation of Eamon Ryan. He lost his seat at the 2011 general election. On 28 March 2011, the ''

Sunday Independent ''Sunday Independent'' may refer to: * ''The Independent'' (Perth) * ''Sunday Independent'' (South Africa) * ''Sunday Independent'' (England), in south-west England, UK * ''Sunday Independent'' (Ireland), in Ireland See also *'' The Independent on ...

'' reported that Carey had "appointed another party crony to a key State board on his final day in office". In November 2015, Carey stepped down as Fianna Fáil's director of elections.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carey, Pat 1947 births Living people Alumni of St Patrick's College, Dublin Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Fianna Fáil TDs Gay politicians Government Chief Whip (Ireland) Irish schoolteachers LGBT conservatism LGBT legislators in Ireland Local councillors in Dublin (city) Members of the 28th Dáil Members of the 29th Dáil Members of the 30th Dáil Ministers for Transport (Ireland) Ministers of State of the 30th Dáil Politicians from County Kerry