Des Foley | |
|---|---|
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office June 1969 – February 1973 | |
| Constituency | Dublin County North |
| In office April 1965 – June 1969 | |
| Constituency | Dublin County |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1940-09-12)12 September 1940 North Strand, County Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 5 February 1995(1995-02-05) (aged 54) Dublin, Ireland |
| Political party | |
| Spouse | Rita Nugent |
| Education | St Joseph's, Fairview |
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Football Position: | Midfield | ||
| Hurling Position: | Midfield | ||
| Club | |||
| Years | Club | ||
| St Vincent's | |||
| Club titles | |||
| Football | Hurling | ||
| Dublin titles | 1 | 4 | |
| Inter-county | |||
| Years | County | ||
1958–1969 | Dublin | ||
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Football | Hurling | ||
| Leinster Titles | 5 | 1 | |
| All-Ireland Titles | 1 | 0 | |
| League titles | 1 | 0 | |
| All-Stars | 2 | 1 | |
Desmond Foley (12 September 1940 – 5 February 1995) was anIrishGaelic footballer andhurler of the 1950s and 1960s. He was also a politician and representedFianna Fáil inDáil Éireann.[1]
Desmond Foley was born into a farming family atKinsealy,County Dublin in 1940.[2] As a young man he showed particular skill atGaelic games, winning four Dublin County SeniorHurling Championships with theSt Vincents GAA club, having earlier captained the school team ofSt Joseph's, Fairview which brought the All-Ireland Colleges football title toDublin for the first time. Foley captained the Dublin minor football team which won the All-Ireland Final in 1958. In 1962 he became the only player in history to play in two provincialRailway Cup finals, in hurling andfootball, on the same day, winning medals in both codes forLeinster. He won further Railway Cup medals again in 1964 and 1965.
Foley was a prominent member of theDublin county hurling team from 1958 until 1969, playing on the losing side in the1961 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final. In 1963 he captained theDublin county football team which defeatedGalway to win the All-Ireland title. He won three All-Star awards, two for football and one for hurling, but never a senior All-Ireland hurling medal. He was a mid-fielder of the highest ranking, particularly noted for his outstanding sportsmanship. His brotherLar Foley was a team colleague, both in hurling and football, through most of his campaigns in the 1950s and 60s and who was also an All-Ireland medal winner for Gaelic football in 1958 and 1963.
Towards the end of his playing career, Foley became interested in politics and was elected toDáil Éireann as aFianna FáilTeachta Dála (TD) for theDublin County constituency at the1965 general election, and in theDublin County North constituency at the1969 general election.[3] He resigned from the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party on 4 November 1971, in advance of a confidence motion inJim Gibbons, whose role in theArms Crisis he disagreed with.[4] He unsuccessfully contested the1973 general election in Dublin County North as anindependent candidate.[5][2]
Des Foley died inDublin in 1995.[2]
| Honorary titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Baby of the Dáil 1965–1969 | Succeeded by |