John O'Leary (3 May 1933 – 5 October 2015) was an Irish

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

politician who served as Minister of State at the Department of the Environment from 1978 to 1979. He 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 Kerry South constituency from 1966 to 1997.

Early life

He was born in Dunrine in the Parish of Kilcummin,

Killarney Killarney ( ; , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Killar ...

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

, in 1933. He was educated at Coolick National School and

St. Brendan's College, Killarney St Brendan's College, known locally as The Sem, is a secondary school in Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland History St Brendan's is a Catholic Diocesan College, founded in 1860 by bishop David Moriarty as a boarding and day-school for boys under ...

. He joined the staff of

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

in 1952 and worked in Housing, Accounts and Health sections over the next 10 years. In July 1962, he was appointed as Acting town clerk of Killarney Urban District Council and later appointed Staff Officer in the Health and Hospitals section of Kerry County Council. When the new Planning department of the Council was launched O'Leary was put in charge of this until his resignation and election to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

in 1966.

Political career

O'Leary was first elected to

at the December 1966 by-election to succeed

Honor Crowley Honor Mary Crowley (; 19 October 1903 – 18 October 1966) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kerry South (Dáil constituency), Kerry South constituency from 1945 to 1966. She was one of five daught ...

. Crowley had previously succeeded her husband,

Frederick Crowley Frederick Hugh Crowley (31 December 1890 – 5 May 1945) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1927 to 1945. He was born on 31 December 1890 in the family home at Gurteen, County Cork, son of Michael N. Cr ...

in 1945. He was re-elected at the 1969 general election and was subsequently appointed to the Dáil Select Committee on Procedures and Privileges from 1969 to 1973. He also represented the government at the 1st World Conference on the Environment in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, in 1972. He was one of five TDs to attend the funerals of the victims of

Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence agai ...

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

in 1972. He was re-elected at the head of the poll at the 1973 general election. He was appointed to membership of the Council of Europe from 1973 to 1975 on the nomination of the Fianna Fáil Leader

Jack Lynch John Mary Lynch (15 August 1917 – 20 October 1999) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979. He was Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1966 to 1979, Leader of the Opposition from 1973 to 1977, ...

and from 1975 to 1977 he served as Opposition Spokesperson on Physical Planning and the Environment. He was elected as a member of

in 1974, gaining the 3rd seat for Fianna Fáil in the Killarney area. Again, he represented Fianna Fáil at the 2nd World Conference on the Environment held in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

, in 1976. He was re-elected at the head of the poll at the 1977 general election. In January 1978, he was appointed Minister of State at the Department of the Environment with special responsibility for Planning, Roads, Water Safety, Housing, Traffic, Water and Sewerage Schemes. He resigned as a member of Kerry County Council in January 1978 and was replaced by P.J. Cronin. He was not reappointed as a Minister of State following the appointment of

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who led four governments as Taoiseach: December 1979 to June 1981, March to December 1982, March 1987 to June 1989, and June 1989 to February 1992 ...

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 nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

in December 1979. He was re-elected at the

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, February 1982 and November 1982 general elections. He was appointed by Charles Haughey as a member of the

New Ireland Forum The New Ireland Forum was a forum in 1983–1984 at which Irish nationalist political parties discussed potential political developments that might alleviate the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The Forum was established by Garret FitzGerald, then ...

in 1983 and again in 1984. He stood again for the Kerry County Council elections in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

and won a fourth seat for the party in the Killarney local electoral area. At the 1987 general election, he was again elected at the head of the poll before the third Fianna Fáil candidate was eliminated, leaving a pool of over 10,000 votes for John O'Donoghue to gain a second seat for the party. He was subsequently appointed to a number of Joint

Oireachtas The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...

Committees. He was re-elected at the 1989 general election. He was re-elected to Kerry County Council at the 1991 local elections. He was re-elected at the 1992 general election and selected as Vice-Chairman of the All-party Foreign Affairs Joint Oireachtas Committee and to the All-party Finance Committee. He retired as a member of Kerry County Council in March 1996 and as a member of Dáil Éireann at the 1997 general election. Fianna Fáil selected his son Brian O'Leary to contest the seat. However, it was won by

Jackie Healy-Rae John Patrick Healy (9 March 1931 – 5 December 2014), known as Jackie Healy-Rae, was an Irish Independent politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kerry South constituency from 1997 to 2011. Early and private life Healy-Rae was ...

who ran as an independent candidate when he was not selected by Fianna Fáil. O'Leary's memoirs, ''On the Doorsteps: Memoirs of a long-serving TD'' were published by Irish Political Memoirs in 2015. In the book, O'Leary describes Charles Haughey as "vindictive" and supported by "thugs". He died following a short illness on 5 October 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oleary, John 1933 births 2015 deaths Fianna Fáil TDs Members of Kerry County Council Politicians from County Kerry Members of the 18th Dáil Members of the 19th Dáil Members of the 20th Dáil Members of the 21st Dáil Members of the 22nd Dáil Members of the 23rd Dáil Members of the 24th Dáil Members of the 25th Dáil Members of the 26th Dáil Members of the 27th Dáil Ministers of state of the 21st Dáil