Ciarán P. Murphy (born 30 May 1940) 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 Christian- ...

politician who 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 Parli ...

(TD) for

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has ...

from 1973 to 1982. A secondary school teacher before entering politics, Murphy was elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

on his first attempt, at the 1973 general election. He defeated the sitting TD

Paudge Brennan Patrick Brennan (18 February 1922 – 10 June 1998) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who sat for 25 years as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wicklow constituency, and was briefly a Senator. Brennan first stood for election to Dáil Éireann ...

, who had left Fianna Fáil over the Arms Crisis and was standing as a candidate for the short-lived breakaway party

Aontacht Éireann Aontacht Éireann (; en, "Irish Unity") was an Ireland, Irish political party founded by Kevin Boland, a former Fianna Fáil government minister and advocate of Irish republicanism. The party mainly operated within the Republic of Ireland. Bol ...

. Murphy was re-elected at the next three general elections, before losing his seat at the November 1982 general election to Paudge Brennan, who had rejoined Fianna Fáil. In October 1982, Murphy had been one of the "

Gang of 22 The Gang of 22 was a group of Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála, TDs (members of parliament) who were opposed to the leadership of Charles Haughey in the early 1980s. The very evident division within the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary group, parliamentary ...

" Fianna Fáil TDs who had voted in favour of a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

in the

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, 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 legisl ...

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 ...

's leadership of the party. The motion had been tabled by

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...

TD Charlie McCreevy, but one of its main backers was

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, ...

. O'Malley was expelled from Fianna Fáil in 1985 and founded a new political party, the

Progressive Democrats The Progressive Democrats ( ga, An Páirtí Daonlathach, literally "The Democratic Party" ), commonly referred to as the PDs, was a conservative-liberal political party in the Republic of Ireland. Launched on 21 December 1985 by Desmond O'Mal ...

(PDs). Murphy, who was no longer a member of the Dáil, joined the PDs and stood as a Progressive Democrat candidate in Wicklow at the 1989 general election. He was unsuccessful, and did not stand again.

References

Local councillors in County Wicklow Fianna Fáil TDs Progressive Democrats politicians 1940 births Living people Members of the 20th Dáil Members of the 21st Dáil Members of the 22nd Dáil Members of the 23rd Dáil Irish schoolteachers {{TeachtaDála-stub