Pádraig Faulkner | |
|---|---|
.png) Faulkner in 1980 | |
| Ceann Comhairle ofDáil 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 | (1918-03-12)12 March 1918 Dundalk,County Louth, Ireland |
| Died | 1 June 2012(2012-06-01) (aged 94) Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland |
| Political party | Fianna Fáil |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 6 |
| Alma mater | St Patrick's College, Dublin |
Pádraig Faulkner (12 March 1918 – 1 June 2012)[1] was an IrishFianna Fáil politician who served asCeann Comhairle ofDáil Éireann from 1980 to 1981,Minister for Defence 1979 to 1980,Minister for Posts and Telegraphs andMinister for Tourism and Transport from 1977 to 1979,Minister for Education from 1969 to 1973,Minister for the Gaeltacht andMinister for Lands from 1968 to 1969 andParliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Gaeltacht from 1965 to 1968. He served as aTeachta Dála (TD) for theLouth constituency from 1957 to 1987.[2]
Faulkner was born inDundalk,County Louth, in 1918. He was educated at DundalkCBS andSt Patrick's College of Education inDrumcondra, Dublin, where he qualified as a national school teacher. Faulkner grew up inDunleer in south Louth, where his father was a strong supporter ofFine 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 theLouth by-election in 1954 but at the1957 general election, he was elected toDáil Éireann winning a second seat for the party withFrank Aiken as they returned to Government.[3]
In 1965, Faulkner was appointedParliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Gaeltacht by theTaoiseach,Seán Lemass. He was appointed to the Cabinet by the new TaoiseachJack Lynch in 1968 and served in every Fianna Fáil-led government until 1980. During theArms Crisis he was a Lynch loyalist. He was one of a number of TDs andSenators who gathered inDublin Airport to welcome Lynch home from theUnited States 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 electedCeann Comhairle ofDáil Éireann. 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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]
Faulkner was subsequently appointed to theCouncil of State byPresident Patrick Hillery in 1984.[4]
Following the election of a new Ceann Comhairle immediately after the1981 general election, he retired to the backbenches before retiring from politics at the1987 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 andTelecom Éireann.[4] 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 theDublin Area Rapid Transit.
He died at the age of 94, on 1 June 2012 in Dunleer.[5]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New office | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Gaeltacht 1965–1968 | Office abolished |
| Preceded by | Minister for Lands 1968–1969 | Succeeded by |
| Minister for the Gaeltacht 1968–1969 | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by | Minister for Education 1969–1973 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Posts and Telegraphs 1977–1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Tourism and Transport 1977–1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Defence 1979–1980 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ceann Comhairle ofDáil Éireann 1980–1981 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
