John O'Connell (Dublin politician)

John Francis O'Connell (20 January 1927 – 8 March 2013) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Health from 1992 to 1993 and Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann from 1981 to 1982. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1965 to 1987 and from 1989 to 1993. He served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Dublin constituency from 1979 to 1981. He was a Senator from 1987 to 1989, after being nominated by the Taoiseach.[1][2]

John O'Connell
Minister for Health
In office 11 January 1992 – 12 January 1993
Taoiseach	Albert Reynolds
Preceded by	Mary O'Rourke
Succeeded by	Brendan Howlin
Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann
In office 30 June 1981 – 14 December 1982
Deputy	Jim Tunney
Preceded by	Pádraig Faulkner
Succeeded by	Thomas J. Fitzpatrick
Teachta Dála
In office June 1989 – 22 February 1993
In office June 1981 – June 1987
Constituency	Dublin South-Central
In office June 1977 – June 1981
Constituency	Dublin Ballyfermot
In office April 1965 – June 1977
Constituency	Dublin South-West
Senator
In office 12 April 1987 – 15 June 1989
Constituency	Nominated by the Taoiseach
Member of the European Parliament
In office 1 July 1979 – 20 October 1981
Constituency	Dublin
Personal details
Born	John Francis O'Connell 20 January 1927 Drumcondra, Dublin, Ireland
Died	8 March 2013 (aged 86) Ranelagh, County Dublin, Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Political party	Fianna Fáil
Other political affiliations	Labour Party Independent
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth (Lilian) O'Connell (m. 1956; d. 2002)
Children	6
Education	St. Vincent's C.B.S.
Alma mater	Royal College of Surgeons

Early life

O'Connell was born in Dublin, and educated at St. Vincent's C.B.S. in Glasnevin and the Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin. In 1960 he founded MIMS Ireland, a well-known monthly index of medical specialties, and in 1967 he founded the Irish Medical Times, a weekly broadsheet for doctors.

Political career

He began his political career when he was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Labour Party TD for Dublin South-West at the 1965 general election.[3] He held a seat for the party until the 1981 general election, when he was expelled for refusing to stand in the Dublin West constituency. Instead, he stood as an independent in Dublin South-Central, opposing the Labour leader, Frank Cluskey. O'Connell, always a large vote-getter, easily topped the poll and Cluskey lost his Dáil seat.

O'Connell was then elected as Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann, and resigned from the European Parliament, to which he had been elected as an MEP for the Dublin constituency in the first direct elections in 1979. (His election to the first directly-elected European Parliament in 1979, along with running-mate Michael O'Leary, was an extraordinary achievement for the Labour Party.) He remained as Ceann Comhairle until December 1982, being returned automatically in the two elections of 1982. In 1983 he became a member of Fianna Fáil, representing the party until he lost his Dáil seat at the 1987 general election. That year he was one of those nominated by the Taoiseach Charles Haughey to the 18th Seanad Éireann, serving until he regained his Dáil seat at the 1989 general election.

Following Albert Reynolds' resignation from the Cabinet, O'Connell supported him and is seen as one of those who helped persuade Haughey to resign when he did. O'Connell was appointed Minister for Health by Reynolds in 1992. He remained as Minister for Health until 1993, when owing to ill-health he resigned from the Cabinet and from the Dáil.

Further controversy surrounded O'Connell's relationship with Charles Haughey in later years. It was revealed during the Moriarty Tribunal firstly that O'Connell was the middleman for donations from Arab tycoon Mahmoud Fustok to Haughey; and secondly that O'Connell had invested a significant sum in Celtic Helicopters, a business venture owned by Haughey's son Ciarán.

In the 1970s he arranged a meeting in his home between Harold Wilson MP, then leader of the British Labour Party, and Dáithí Ó Conaill, a member of the Army Council of the Provisional IRA. Negotiations that night to broker a ceasefire were successful in the short term, but ultimately broke down.

References

1. Fiach Kelly (8 March 2013). "Former Ceann Comhairle John O'Connell dies". Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
2. "John O'Connell". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
3. "John O'Connell". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 5 January 2010.

External links

• Personal profile of John O'Connell in the European Parliament's database of members