Joseph Peter Brennan (14 February 1913 – 13 July 1980) 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

Ceann Comhairle The (; "Head of heCouncil"; plural usually ) is the chairperson (or speaker) of , the lower house of the (parliament) of Ireland. The person who holds the position is elected by members of the from among their number in the first session ...

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 ...

from 1977 to 1980, Deputy Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1973 to 1977, Minister for Social Welfare from 1970 to 1973 and 1966 to 1969, Minister for Labour from 1969 to 1973,

Minister for Posts and Telegraphs The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs () was the holder of a position in the Government of Ireland (and, earlier, in the Executive Council of the Irish Free State). From 1924 until 1984 – when it was abolished – the minister headed the Dep ...

from 1965 to 1966, and a Parliamentary Secretary from 1959 to 1965. 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) from 1951 to 1980.

Early and personal life

He was born in

Dunkineely Dunkineely () is a small village and townland in County Donegal, Ireland. It is situated from the town of Donegal and from Killybegs on the N56 National secondary road. It is a small single street village with a population of around 350. Th ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

, the son of farmer Francis Brennan and Hannah Carr. He was educated locally and developed great skill at

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

, playing for his county team. He began his working life as a freelance journalist with ''

The Irish Press ''The Irish Press'' (irish language, Irish: ''Scéala Éireann'') was an Ireland, Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995. History Foundation The paper's first issue was published o ...

'' and the '' Donegal Democrat'' before establishing himself as an auctioneer, estate agent, and spirit merchant. During The Emergency he served in the FCA, retiring as Officer commanding of the South Donegal Battalion. He married first Bridget (d. 1940), they had one son and four daughters. In February 1942 he married Margaret McDevitt.

Politics

He polled the highest number of first preferences in the 1949 Donegal West by-election but failed to be elected. Brennan was elected as a

(TD) for the Donegal West constituency at the 1951 general election and was re-elected at each election until his death. As constituency boundaries were changed, he represented Donegal South-West from 1961 to 1969, Donegal–Leitrim from 1969 to 1977, and Donegal from 1977 to 1980. In 1959, when

Seán Lemass Seán Francis Lemass (born John Francis Lemass; 15 July 1899 – 11 May 1971) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1959 to 1966. He also served as Tánaiste from 1957 to 1959, 1951 to 1954 ...

succeeded as Taoiseach, Brennan was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance. After the 1961 general election, he was appointed as Government Chief Whip, as Parliamentary Secretary to the Taoiseach, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence. After the 1965 general election, Brennan joined the cabinet when he was appointed as

. In 1966, when

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, ...

succeeded as Taoiseach, Brennan was appointed as Minister for Social Welfare. Following the 1969 general election he was appointed as Minister for Labour. In the wake of the Arms Crisis in 1970 he was appointed to the additional portfolio of Social Welfare. After the 1973 general election,

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 ...

and the Labour Party formed a National Coalition government. Fianna Fáil were returned to office after the 1977 general election. Brennan was elected

, a position he held until his death in 1980, aged 67. The by-election for his seat in the Donegal constituency was held on 6 November 1980, and won by the Fianna Fáil candidate

Clement Coughlan Clement Coughlan (14 August 1942 – 1 February 1983) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and school teacher from County Donegal. He was elected to Dáil Éireann in a 1980 by-election as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for the Donegal cons ...

. He was president of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland between 1934 and 1938.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, Joseph 1913 births 1980 deaths Fianna Fáil TDs Donegal inter-county Gaelic footballers Irish sportsperson-politicians Members of the 14th Dáil Members of the 15th Dáil Members of the 16th Dáil 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 Ministers for social affairs of Ireland Parliamentary secretaries of the 17th Dáil Politicians from County Donegal Presiding officers of Dáil Éireann Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland Government Chief Whip (Ireland)