Michael O'Leary (8 May 1936 – 11 May 2006) was an Irish judge, politician and barrister who served as a Judge of the

District Court District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...

from 1997 to 2006,

Tánaiste The Tánaiste ( , ) is the second-ranking member of the government of Ireland and the holder of its second-most senior office. It is the equivalent of the deputy prime minister in other parliamentary systems. The Tánaiste is appointed by the P ...

and Minister for Energy from 1981 to 1982, Leader of the Labour Party from 1981 to 1982 and Minister for Labour from 1973 to 1977. 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 1965 to 1987. He was a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP) from 1979 to 1981. He resigned from the Labour Party in 1982 to join

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 ...

Early life

O'Leary was born in Cork in 1936, the son of a

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

lican. He was educated at Presentation College,

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, and

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns () is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environments. The Benchers of King's Inns aw ...

. On returning to Ireland, he became involved in the Labour Party and was employed as an Education Officer for the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU). In this role he was instrumental in establishing the Universities Branch, affiliated to Dublin North-Central constituency, bringing together Labour Party students of the Dublin University Fabian Society in

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 of

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

Political career

O'Leary was first 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 Labour Party TD for Dublin North-Central at the 1965 general election. His agent was Bob Mitchell, Chairman of Dublin University Fabian Society, who could claim credit in a dirty campaign for picking up transfers to squeeze out the Labour Party front-runner on the 11th recount. When he was first elected to the Dáil, O'Leary encouraged the Labour Party to take a more left-wing stance in its policies. He was initially strongly opposed to the idea of a

coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

with

, but following the 1969 general election he believed that there was a need for a new approach. When the Labour Party and

formed the National Coalition government following the 1973 general election he was appointed Minister for Labour. In 1977, he was narrowly defeated by

Frank Cluskey Frank Cluskey (8 April 1930 – 7 May 1989) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism from 1982 to 1983, Leader of the Labour Party from 1977 to 1981 and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minist ...

for the leadership of the party. O'Leary was elected to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

for the

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 ...

constituency in 1979. Cluskey resigned as Labour Party leader when he lost his Dáil seat at the 1981 general election and O'Leary was elected unanimously to succeed him. In the short-lived Fine Gael–Labour Party government of 1981 to 1982, O'Leary became

and Minister for Energy. After the government's defeat at the February 1982 general election he remained leader until he suddenly resigned both the leadership and his party membership on 28 October, in the aftermath of a party conference vote on a potential coalition with

. On 3 November he joined Fine Gael. At the November 1982 general election, he was elected a Fine Gael TD in the Dublin South-West constituency. After the election, a new Fine Gael–Labour government was formed, but O'Leary was kept out of cabinet office by his former Labour colleagues. In 1985, O'Leary introduced a

private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...

on divorce which preceded the government's own 1986 divorce referendum. When 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 ...

were formed in 1985 he considered joining but remained with Fine Gael. He did not contest the 1987 general election and afterwards, he moved back to Cork and practised as a barrister. He was elected as a Fine Gael member of Cork City Council at the 1991 local elections. He unsuccessfully contested the 1992 general election in

Cork North-Central "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

and received about 2% of the valid poll. He was appointed a

judge in 1997 by the Fine Gael–Labour Party– Democratic Left

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 ...

Death

O'Leary died in France in May 2006, following a drowning accident in a swimming pool. He was on holiday, having retired as a judge just days earlier.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oleary, Michael 1936 births 2006 deaths Lawyers from Cork (city) Deaths by drowning in France Leaders of the Labour Party (Ireland) Fine Gael TDs Irish barristers Politicians from Cork (city) Tánaistí 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 Labour Party (Ireland) MEPs MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 1979–1984 Columbia University alumni People educated at Presentation Brothers College, Cork Labour Party (Ireland) TDs Alumni of King's Inns 20th-century Irish judges 21st-century Irish judges Alumni of University College Cork District Court (Ireland) judges