Ciarán Cannon (born 19 September 1965) is an Irish former

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, 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 Éireann. The party had a member ...

politician who served as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) for the Galway East constituency from 2011 to 2024. He previously served as a senator for the

Progressive Democrats The Progressive Democrats (, literally "The Democratic Party"), commonly referred to as the PDs, were a conservative liberal political party in Ireland. The party's history spanned 24 years, from its formation in 1985 to its dissolution in 20 ...

and was the last elected leader of that party. He served as a

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

from 2011 to 2014 and again from 2017 to 2020. He served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

from 2007 to 2011, after being

nominated by the Taoiseach A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...

. Before entering politics, he was a planning official for

Galway City Council Galway City Council () is the local authority of the city of Galway, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and ...

and

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of the city of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the authority was k ...

, as well as CEO and secretary of the Irish Pilgrimage Trust. In 2002, he was honoured as one of the Galway People of the Year.

Political career

Progressive Democrats

As a member of the

, Cannon was elected to

Galway County Council Galway County Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of County Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for ho ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, to represent the

Loughrea Loughrea ( ; ), is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It lies to the north of a range of wooded hills, the Slieve Aughty Mountains and Lough Rea, the lake from which it takes its name. The town's cathedral, St Brendan's, dominates the urban sk ...

local electoral area A local electoral area (LEA; ) is an electoral area for elections to Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authorities in Ireland. All elections in the Republic of Ireland, elections use the single transferable vote. Republic of Ir ...

, with 1,307 first preferences. He was an unsuccessful candidate at the 2007 general election in Galway East. He was

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, and as Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008. A Teachta Dála (TD) from 1977 to 2011, he served ...

to the 23rd Seanad in 2007. Cannon was elected as Leader of the Progressive Democrats in April 2008. He was the first leader of the party to sit as a Senator while serving as leader. At his first press conference as party leader, he stated that he believed "there was passion, commitment, talent and knowledge within the PDs' ranks to stage a big comeback". However, after speculation increased that Noel Grealish, one of the two Progressive Democrat TDs, intended to leave the party, Cannon announced in September 2008 that a party conference would be held on 8 November 2008, at which he would recommend that the party disband. The delegates present at the conference voted by 201–161 to agree with this recommendation.

Fine Gael

On 24 March 2009, Cannon announced his decision to resign the leadership of the PDs and joined Fine Gael the same day. At the 2011 general election, he was one of two Fine Gael TDs elected in Galway East. On 10 March 2011, he was appointed by the

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

led by

Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 201 ...

as Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills with responsibility for Training and Skills. He was dropped as a minister in a reshuffle on 15 July 2014. At the 2016 general election, he was elected to the third seat in Galway East. On 20 June 2017, he was appointed by the

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

led by

Leo Varadkar Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2017 to 2020 and from 2022 to 2024, as Tánaiste from 2020 to 2022, and as leader of Fine Gael from 2017 to 2024. A Teachta Dála, ...

as Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with responsibility for the Diaspora and International Development. He called for a "No" vote in the 2018 referendum to allow legislation on abortion. In 2019, in recognition of his work in education, Cannon was appointed as a UNICEF global champion for education. He is one of seven Generation Unlimited Champions who will advocate worldwide for the development of UNICEF's Gen U programme. At the 2020 general election, he was elected to the second seat in Galway East. He continued to serve as a minister of state until the formation of a new government on 27 June 2020. On 19 March 2024, Cannon announced that he would not contest the next general election, blaming a "toxicity in politics".

Personal life

Cannon is a musician and songwriter, and recently collaborated with Irish folk singer Seán Keane and others on songwriting projects. One of Cannon's co-compositions, "Nature's Little Symphony", was performed in Dublin by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra as part of the national Cruinniú celebrations on Easter Monday 2017. Both "Nature’s Little Symphony" and another of his compositions "Gratitude" featured on the album "Gratitude" recorded by Seán Keane and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in 2018. On the 10 August 2018, Cannon played piano with Seán Keane and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra as part of a sold-out performance at the National Concert Hall. In 2019, he composed "An Túr", a short piano instrumental to celebrate the birthday of

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

. In 2021 he was commissioned to compose the soundtrack to a poem by Emily Cullen as part of the national commemoration of the signing of the Anglo-Irish treaty in 1921. In March 2024 he began presenting The Grey Lake Cafe, a radio show on Loughrea Community Radio featuring his own musical choices, and interviews with public figures who have a passion for music. Cannon is also an avid cyclist and cycling safety advocate. He specialises in endurance cycling challenges and on 19 June 2021 he cycled Ireland end to end, a distance of 575 km, in 23 hours and 23 minutes, to raise money for charity. On 2 July 2021 he was involved in a road traffic collision and suffered serious injuries. On 2 July 2022 he marked the first anniversary of the incident by cycling 500 km around the border of

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

. Marking the same date in 2023, he cycled in 56 hours, covering all 32 counties of the island of Ireland while fundraising for Hand In Hand, a charity that supports families challenged by childhood cancer.

References

External links

Ciarán Cannon's page on the Fine Gael website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cannon, Ciaran 1965 births Living people Fine Gael TDs Leaders of Progressive Democrats Members of Galway County Council Members of the 23rd Seanad Members of the 31st Dáil Members of the 32nd Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil Ministers of State of the 31st Dáil Politicians from County Galway Progressive Democrats candidates in Dáil elections Nominated members of Seanad Éireann Progressive Democrats senators Ministers of State of the 32nd Dáil Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Progressive Democrats local councillors