Pádraig Faulkner (12 March 1918 – 1 June 2012)[1] was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann 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 (TD) for the Louth constituency from 1957 to 1987.[2]
Pádraig Faulkner | |
|---|---|
.png) Faulkner in 1980 | |
| Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann | |
| In office 16 October 1980 – 30 June 1981 | |
| Deputy | Seán Browne |
| Preceded by | Joseph Brennan |
| Succeeded by | John O'Connell |
| Minister for Defence | |
| In office 12 December 1979 – 15 October 1980 | |
| Taoiseach | |
| Preceded by | Bobby Molloy |
| Succeeded by | Sylvester Barrett |
| Minister for Posts and Telegraphs | |
| In office 5 July 1977 – 11 December 1979 | |
| Taoiseach | Jack Lynch |
| Preceded by | Conor Cruise O'Brien |
| Succeeded by | Albert Reynolds |
| Minister for Tourism and Transport | |
| In office 5 July 1977 – 11 December 1979 | |
| Taoiseach | Jack Lynch |
| Preceded by | Tom Fitzpatrick |
| Succeeded by | George Colley |
| Minister for Education | |
| In office 2 July 1969 – 14 March 1973 | |
| Taoiseach | Jack Lynch |
| Preceded by | Brian Lenihan |
| Succeeded by | Richard Burke |
| Minister for the Gaeltacht | |
| In office 27 March 1968 – 2 July 1969 | |
| Taoiseach | Jack Lynch |
| Preceded by | Mícheál Ó Móráin |
| Succeeded by | George Colley |
| Minister for Lands | |
| In office 27 March 1968 – 2 July 1969 | |
| Taoiseach | Jack Lynch |
| Preceded by | Mícheál Ó Móráin |
| Succeeded by | Seán Flanagan |
| Parliamentary Secretary | |
| 1965–1968 | Gaeltacht |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office March 1957 – February 1987 | |
| Constituency | Louth |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 March 1918 Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland |
| Died | 1 June 2012 (aged 94) Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland |
| Political party | Fianna Fáil |
| Spouse |
Kitty Landy (m. 1948) |
| Children | 6 |
| Alma mater | St Patrick's College, Dublin |
Faulkner was born in Dundalk, County Louth, 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, 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.[3]
In 1965, Faulkner was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Gaeltacht by the Taoiseach, 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 senior TDs who organised the assembly of TDs and Senators in Dublin Airport to welcome Lynch home from the United States, after the defendants had been found not guilty at the Arms Trial. Nine years later in 1979 one of those defendants, Charles Haughey, was elected Taoiseach. Faulkner was retained in the Cabinet until 1980 when he was elected Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann. He was subsequently appointed to the Council of State by President Patrick Hillery in 1984.[4]
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 and Telecom Éireann.[4]
He died at the age of 94, on 1 June 2012.[5]
References
edit- ^ Murphy, Hubert (6 June 2012). "Louth mourns death of Padraig Faulkner". Drogheda Independent. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- ^ "Pádraig Faulkner". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
- ^ "Pádraig Faulkner". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
- ^ a b Maume, Patrick (June 2018). "Faulkner, Pádraig". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
- ^ "Former Ceann Comhairle Pádraig Faulkner dies aged 94". RTÉ News. 1 June 2012. Archived from the original on 1 June 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.