Martin O'Donoghue (19 May 1933 – 20 July 2018) 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 for Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

from March 1982 to October 1982 and Minister for Economic Planning and Development from 1977 to 1979. 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 ...

for the

Labour Panel The Labour Panel is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Labour Panel elects eleven senators. Election Article 18 of the Const ...

from 1983 to 1987. He also 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

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in County Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation th ...

constituency from 1977 to 1982. He was one of a few TDs to be appointed a Minister on their first day in the Dáil.

Life

O'Donoghue was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 1933. He was educated in Crumlin and worked as a waiter in Dublin, becoming a mature student at

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

and being awarded a Ph.D. in economics by

Career

From 1962 to 1964 and from 1967 to 1969, he was economic consultant at the Departments of

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

and

Finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

respectively. He was elected a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin in 1969 and promoted to associate professor of Economics there in 1970. Between 1970 and 1973, O'Donoghue was economic adviser to 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 nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

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, ...

Politics

At the 1977 general election O'Donoghue was elected 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 ...

as a

TD for the

constituency. He was chief author of the election manifesto which saw

achieve an unprecedented twenty-seat majority. O'Donoghue was appointed Minister for Economic Planning and Development on his first day in office as a TD, a new cabinet portfolio. In December 1979,

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 ...

became

and O'Donoghue was dropped from cabinet, with the functions of his former department merged into the Department of Finance. In March 1982, O'Donoghue returned to cabinet as Minister for Education. In October 1982, he and

Des 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, ...

refused to support Haughey in a leadership challenge and resigned from cabinet. At the November 1982 general election O'Donoghue lost his seat. O'Donoghue was elected to the

17th Seanad The 17th Seanad was in office from 1983 to 1987. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the November 1982 general election to the 24th Dáil. The senators served until the close of poll for th ...

in 1983. He resigned from the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party in February 1983 after leaked phone calls emerged of him being critical of Haughey while he was a cabinet minister. He later left Fianna Fáil, becoming a supporter of 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 ...

, a party founded by Des O'Malley. He remained in the Seanad until 1987.

Later career

O'Donoghue returned to academia until his retirement in 1995. In 1998, he became a director of the

Central Bank of Ireland The Central Bank of Ireland () is the national central bank for Ireland within the Eurosystem. It was the Irish central bank from 1943 to 1998, issuing the Irish pound. It is also the country's main financial regulatory authority, and since 2 ...

, serving with this and its successor body until the end of April 2008. He was a Fellow of

and served on the board of the

O'Reilly Foundation The O'Reilly Foundation is a personal charitable trust set up in 1998 by media magnate, and former CEO of Heinz, Sir Anthony "Tony" O'Reilly. Its stated function is the funding of educational projects; the two main work areas in its active peri ...

. He died on 20 July 2018.

Footnotes

References

External links

The O'Reilly Foundation - Scholarship Board, and short profiles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odonoghue, Martin 1933 births 2018 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Fianna Fáil TDs Members of the 21st Dáil Members of the 22nd Dáil Members of the 23rd Dáil Members of the 17th Seanad Ministers for education of Ireland O'Reilly Foundation Politicians from Dún Laoghaire Fianna Fáil senators Fellows of Trinity College Dublin Administrative Panel senators