Michael Begley (22 August 1932 – 26 March 2012) was an Irish

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and 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 � ...

politician who served as Minister of State at the Department of Trade, Commerce and Tourism from 1981 to 1982, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance from 1975 to 1977 and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Local Government from 1973 to 1975. He served as 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 the Kerry South constituency from 1969 to 1989. Born in

Dingle Dingle ( Irish: ''An Daingean'' or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it sits on the Atlantic coast, about southwest of Tralee and northwest of Kill ...

, County Kerry, in 1932, to a farming family. Begley was a carpenter and secondary school teacher before entering national politics. Prior to his election as a TD, Begley was elected to

Kerry County Council Kerry County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Chiarraí) is the authority responsible for local government in County Kerry, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and ...

and subsequently served as chairman of the council in 1966–67. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann on his third attempt at the 1969 general election for Kerry South. Four years later in 1973, Fine Gael came to power in coalition government with the Labour Party and Begley was appointed as

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

with responsibility for Local Government. In 1975, Begley became Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance following the death of

Henry Kenny Henry Frances Kenny (7 September 1913 – 25 September 1975) was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Minister of State at the Department of Finance from 1973 to 1975. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1954 to 1975. He was the fathe ...

. He served in that position until 1977. In 1981, he became a Junior Minister for the Department of Industry and Commerce in the government of Garret FitzGerald. He served in this capacity until 1982 when the government fell. Begley remained a TD until losing his seat at the 1989 general election to the Labour Party's Michael Moynihan. He then retired from politics. Michael Begley died aged 79. Tributes were paid among many politicians including

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of 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 legislature) and the o ...

Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from ...

and

Tánaiste The Tánaiste ( , ) is the deputy head of the government of Ireland and thus holder of its second-most senior office. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is former Tao ...

Eamon Gilmore Eamonn or Éamon or Eamon may refer to: * Eamonn (given name), an Irish male given name * Eamon (singer) (born 1983), American R&B singer-songwriter and harmonicist * ''Eamon'' (video game), a 1980 computer role-playing game for the Apple II *"Éam ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Begley, Michael 1932 births 2012 deaths Fine Gael TDs 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 Local councillors in County Kerry Politicians from County Kerry Ministers of State of the 22nd Dáil Parliamentary Secretaries of the 20th Dáil People from Dingle