Pádraig Faulkner (12 March 1918 – 1 June 2012) 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 ...
of
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 1980 to 1981,
Minister for Defence 1979 to 1980,
Minister for Posts and Telegraphs and
Minister for Tourism and Transport from 1977 to 1979,
Minister for Education from 1969 to 1973,
Minister for the Gaeltacht and
Minister for Lands from 1968 to 1969 and
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Gaeltacht from 1965 to 1968. 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
Louth constituency from 1957 to 1987.
Faulkner was born in
Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...
,
County Louth
County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...
, in 1918. He was educated at Dundalk
CBS and
St Patrick's College of Education in
Drumcondra, Dublin, where he qualified as a national school teacher. Faulkner grew up in
Dunleer in south Louth, where his father was a strong supporter of
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 ...
, while his mother supported the more Republican and working-class Fianna Fáil. He favoured his mother's political outlook and joined Fianna Fáil. Faulkner unsuccessfully contested the
Louth by-election in 1954 but at the
1957 general election, he 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 ...
winning a second seat for the party with
Frank Aiken
Francis Thomas Aiken (13 February 1898 – 18 May 1983) was an Irish revolutionary and politician. He was Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army, chief of staff of the Irish Republican Army (1922–1969), Anti-Treaty IRA at the end of the I ...
as they returned to Government.
In 1965, Faulkner was appointed
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Gaeltacht by 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 ...
,
Seán Lemass. He was appointed to the Cabinet by the new Taoiseach
Jack Lynch in 1968 and served in every Fianna Fáil-led government until 1980. During the
Arms Crisis he was a Lynch loyalist. He was one of a number of TDs and
Senators who gathered in
Dublin Airport to welcome Lynch home from the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
after the defendants had been found not guilty at the Arms Trial. This gathering has been arranged by his constituency colleague, Frank Aiken. Nine years later in 1979 one of those defendants,
Charles J. Haughey, was elected Taoiseach. Faulkner was retained in the Cabinet until 1980 as Minister of Defence when he was elected
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 ...
of
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 ...
. It was rumoured by various political correspondents that George Colley insisted that he personally appoint the Ministers for Defence and Justice in the 1979 Cabinet. Faulkner rebuts this in his autobiography. Haughey as a former Army Officer took offence to that claim from certain sections of the media that he would subvert the Army as his father had died as an Army Officer himself.
Faulkner was subsequently appointed to the
Council of State
A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...
by
President Patrick Hillery in 1984.
Following the election of a new Ceann Comhairle immediately after the
1981 general election, he retired to the backbenches before retiring from politics at the
1987 general election. In a Dáil career that spanned thirty years, his most notable achievements include the introduction of the legislation to establish two commercial semi-State companies,
An Post
(; literally 'The Post') is the state-owned provider of Mail, postal services in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. An Post provides a "universal postal service" to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union. Services provide ...
and
Telecom Éireann.
He also played a notable role in the establishment of the Regional College of Technology in Dundalk now Dundalk Institute of Technology and the Faulkner Building is named after him as a result. Faulkner, while Minister for Transport & Power, also oversaw part of the introduction of the
Dublin Area Rapid Transit
The Dublin Area Rapid Transit system (stylised as DART) is an electrified commuter rail railway network serving the coastline and city of Dublin, Ireland. The service makes up the core of Dublin's suburban railway network, stretching from Gre ...
.
He died at the age of 94, on 1 June 2012 in Dunleer.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faulkner, Padraig
1918 births
2012 deaths
Fianna Fáil TDs
People from Dundalk
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
Members of the 22nd Dáil
Members of the 23rd Dáil
Members of the 24th Dáil
Members of Louth County Council
Irish schoolteachers
Alumni of St Patrick's College, Dublin
Presiding officers of Dáil Éireann
Presidential appointees to the Council of State (Ireland)
Ministers for defence of Ireland
Ministers for education of Ireland
Ministers for transport of Ireland
Parliamentary secretaries of the 18th Dáil