William Gerard O'Dea ( ; born 1 November 1952) is 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 has been 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 Limerick City constituency since 2011, and previously from 1982 to 2011 for the Limerick East constituency. He has served as Minister for Defence from 2004 to 2010, and was a

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

in different departments from 1992 to 1994, and again from 1997 to 2004.

Early and private life

O'Dea was born in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

in 1952, but he was raised in Kilteely,

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

. He was educated at the Patrician Brothers College in Ballyfin,

County Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...

, and

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 ...

where he studied law. He qualified as a barrister at

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 ...

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 ...

and as an accountant from the Institute of Certified Accountants. He worked as both a barrister and as an accountant before embarking on a career in politics. He also lectured in the law faculties of both

and the National Institute of Higher Education, Limerick (now the

University of Limerick University of Limerick (UL) () is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972, as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in Septemb ...

). As a lecturer, he taught future cabinet colleague and Taoiseach

Brian Cowen Brian Bernard Cowen (born 10 January 1960) is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011. Cowen served as a TD for the constituency of Laois–Offaly from 1984 to 2011 and served in several ...

. O'Dea is married to Geraldine Kennedy. He writes regularly for the '' Sunday Independent'' and occasionally for other national newspapers.

Early political career

O'Dea first held political office as a Fianna Fáil member of Limerick County Council. He served on that authority until 1992. He first stood for election 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 ...

in Limerick East at the 1981 general election, but was unsuccessful. He was elected to the Dáil on his second attempt at the February 1982 general election, capturing Fianna Fáil's second seat. Like his former constituency colleague

Desmond O'Malley Desmond Joseph O'Malley (2 February 1939 – 21 July 2021) was an Irish politician who served as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Minister for Industry and Commerce from 1977 to 1981 and 1989 to 1992, Progressive Democrats, Leader ...

, O'Dea was opposed to Charles Haughey's leadership throughout the 1980s, becoming a member of the so-called Gang of 22. When O'Malley founded

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 ...

in 1985 and left Fianna Fáil, O'Dea became the only Fianna Fáil TD in the five-seat Limerick East constituency.

Ministerial career

In January 1992, after Albert Reynolds succeeded Charles Haughey as

leader of Fianna Fáil The leader of Fianna Fáil is the most senior politician within the Fianna Fáil political party in Ireland. Since 2011 Fianna Fáil leadership election, 26 January 2011, the office has been held by Micheál Martin, following the resignation of ...

and

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 ...

in coalition with the

. O'Dea was appointed as a

Minister of State at the Department of Justice The Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration of the Government of Ireland who performs duties and functions delegated by the M ...

. In January 1993, in the Fianna Fáil– Labour Party coalition government, O'Dea was reappointed at Justice with the additional appointment as Minister of State at the Department of Health. He held these positions until December 1994, when the government collapsed. After the 1997 general election, Fianna Fáil were back in government in coalition with the Progressive Democrats and O'Dea was appointed a Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science. Here he had responsibility for Adult Education and the School Transport Scheme. He oversaw reform and increased investment in adult education and back to school initiatives, starting with the launch of Green Paper in November 1998. Following the 2002 general election, O'Dea was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform with special responsibility for Equality and Disability Issues. His main responsibility during this period was the passage of the Disabilities Bill, which the government had been forced to withdraw in early 2002 in the teeth of opposition from the disability sector. After a number of changes, including a form of the independent assessment of needs demanded by the disability organisations, O'Dea introduced a new bill in September 2004 along with an implementation package. In September 2004, O'Dea was appointed Minister for Defence in a cabinet reshuffle. His tenure commenced as the army deafness compensation issue was starting to come to an end. In November 2005, O'Dea was photographed during a media event at the Curragh Camp pointing an automatic pistol at a photographer. The photo appeared on the front page of ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' the following day. O'Dea apologised saying that it was not his intention to glamorise gun crime. As Minister for Defence, O'Dea prioritised two particular issues: the recruitment of more women to the Defence Forces and the promotion of more serving non-commissioned members to the commissioned ranks, often called "promotion from the ranks". He also presided over Ireland's second tour in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

in late 2006, as part of UNIFIL 2 and participation in the EUFOR mission to

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

O'Dea and Limerick

O'Dea is highly identified with his native Limerick. Three main issues have dominated his recent pronouncements on

: Shannon Airport,

Dell Dell Inc. is an American technology company that develops, sells, repairs, and supports personal computers (PCs), Server (computing), servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, computer peripherals including printers and webcam ...

and gangland crime. In August 2007, he broke ranks with cabinet colleagues to speak out against

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish , meaning "air fleet") is an Irish airline company which is the flag carrier of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 201 ...

's decision to cease

London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingd ...

flights from Shannon. In December 2008, O'Dea and

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 ...

Mary Coughlan flew to Dell's Corporate HQ in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, in a last-ditch and ultimately futile attempt to stop the closure of Dell's manufacturing plant in Raheen, Limerick. Manufacturing was moved to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, with the loss of about two thirds of the jobs at Dell's Limerick operation. The murder of two innocent men in Limerick within months of each other: Shane Geoghegan and Roy Collins increased pressure on O'Dea locally, as a member of the cabinet, to secure changes to the law and greater resources to tackle

city's gangland crime. On 5 February 2010, O'Dea announced that the government would not deliver its commitments to fund the Limerick Regeneration project. The €1.7bn funds (between 2009 and 2018) promised by the government will no longer be delivered. In October 2017, Willie O'Dea accused

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...

of libel after calling Limerick 'Stab City', a term once linked with the city. It was announced in 2021 that O'Dea and former minister Batt O'Keeffe had left the board of a UK property developer linked to the bulk sale of social housing in Limerick to approved housing bodies that qualify for State funding. Mr O’Dea had been non-executive chairman of Formation Group since mid-2014.

Defamation case and resignation

On 10 March 2009, O'Dea alleged in an interview with the '' Limerick Leader'' that a brothel had been operating in a house owned by Nessan Quinlivan, brother of Maurice Quinlivan who at the time was a

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

candidate in Limerick for the upcoming June 2009 local elections. On 14 April 2009, O'Dea signed an

affidavit An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or ''deposition (law), deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by la ...

to the courts, denying making such allegations. Quinlivan sought an injunction under the Prevention of Electoral Abuses Act 1923: under section 11 of the act it is a criminal offence to make or publish a false statement of fact in relation to an election candidate. In December 2009, O'Dea settled the case out of court and apologised to Quinlivan for making "false and defamatory statements" during the interview, after a tape recording of the interview emerged. O'Dea also paid an undisclosed sum in damages to Quinlivan. A settlement agreement was read out in the High Court. On 16 February 2010,

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 ...

announced it intended to table a

motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

in O'Dea, however, the government responded with a motion of confidence. The government won the confidence motion in O'Dea in the Dáil on 17 February 2010. The Green Party, coalition partners in government with O'Dea's party, voted with Fianna Fáil on the motion. However, Green Party Chairman Senator Dan Boyle wrote on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

, that he has "no confidence" in O'Dea and declaring him to be "compromised". On 18 February 2010, O'Dea resigned as Minister for Defence. In his resignation letter, he said that he had come to the conclusion: "that my continuing in office would distract from the important and vital work of the Government". O'Dea said he decided to resign when it became clear that the Green Party would no longer support the Government if he was to stay in office.

Reappointment to front bench

O'Dea was appointed to

Micheál Martin Micheál Martin (; born 16 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician serving as Taoiseach since January 2025, having previously held the position from 2020 to 2022. Martin served as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Min ...

's frontbench as Spokesperson for Communications, as part of the Fianna Fáil campaign for the 2011 general election. In the 2011 election he was re-elected to the newly formed Limerick City constituency, polling 16% of the vote, down from the 39% he polled four years previously. He was the Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation from April 2011 to July 2012. In July 2012, he was appointed as Spokesperson on Social Protection and Social Equality. At the 2016 general election, O'Dea increased his share of the first preference from 16% to 27.8%. He was re-elected on the first count. He was re-elected again at the 2020 general election, with a reduced vote share. O'Dea is understood to have raised concerns about the direction of the Fianna Fáil party under the leadership of

at internal party meetings but has so far declined to do so in public. Almost two years after the Coalition Government with

and the Green Party was formed, O'Dea remarked that “By now I think you’d have more chance of getting young people interested in the music of Big Tom than getting them into Fianna Fáil,” in reference to the Irish country and traditional music singer. In 2023, O'Dea voiced his criticism of the decision by the Minister for Justice,

Simon Harris Simon Harris (born 17 October 1986) is an Irish Fine Gael politician serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister for Defence since January 2025, having previously served as Taoiseach from 2024 to 2025. He has ...

, to grant an application by convicted killer Logan Jackson, to move him from Limerick Prison to a jail in Great Britain, so as to be nearer his family. O'Dea supported the legal challenge by Tracey Tully, the mother of the murdered champion Irish boxer, Kevin Sheehy.

References

External links