Tom McEllistrim | |
|---|---|
| Minister of State | |
| Mar.–Dec. 1982 | Fisheries and Forestry |
| 1979–1981 | Finance |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office June 1989 – November 1992 | |
| In office June 1969 – February 1987 | |
| Constituency | Kerry North |
| Senator | |
| In office 25 April 1987 – 15 June 1989 | |
| Constituency | Nominated by the Taoiseach |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1926-01-15)15 January 1926 Boherbue,County Cork, Ireland |
| Died | 25 February 2000(2000-02-25) (aged 74) Tralee,County Kerry, Ireland |
| Political party | Fianna Fáil |
| Children | Tom McEllistrim |
| Parent |
|
Thomas McEllistrim (15 January 1926 – 25 February 2000) was an IrishFianna Fáil politician who served as aMinister of State from 1979 to 1981 and from March 1982 to December 1982. He served as aTeachta Dála (TD) for theKerry North constituency from 1969 to 1987 and 1989 to 1992 and aSenator from 1987 to 1989, after beingNominated by the Taoiseach.[1]
Born inBoherbue,County Cork, in 1926, McEllistrim was the son of theFianna Fáil politician andWar of Independence veteran,Tom McEllistrim. McEllistrim the younger succeeded his father when he was elected toDáil Éireann as a Fianna FáilTD for theKerry North constituency at the1969 general election.[2] At the1977 general election, McEllistrim was elected along with his running mateKit Ahern. This was the first time thatFianna Fáil had won two seats in the three-seat Kerry North constituency. McEllistrim, who was given much credit for this victory, was disappointed not to receive a promotion as aMinister of State.
McEllistrim became disillusioned with theTaoiseach and party leaderJack Lynch from then and began to believe thatCharles Haughey was the right candidate for the party leadership. McEllistrim believed that Lynch was about to retire and was uncomfortable at the thought ofGeorge Colley succeeding Lynch. Like his father before him, he believed Colley was not right for the role of leader of the party and not republican enough. McEllistrim was particularly vocal with regard to party policy towardsNorthern Ireland and, as he saw it, Lynch's apparent lack of sympathy towards the northernnationalist community.
McEllistrim was a member of the so-called "gang of five" along withSeán Doherty,Mark Killilea Jnr,Jackie Fahey andAlbert Reynolds who started a lobbying campaign in favour of Haughey on the backbenches of the party. After Lynch lost twoby-elections in his nativeCork he resigned as party leader in December 1979. Two days later, theleadership contest was called. It was a two-way race between Haughey and Colley, which Haughey won by a decisive margin. Ellistrim was rewarded by being appointedMinister of State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for theOffice of Public Works.[3] Fianna Fáil went into opposition after the1981 general election, but returned to office after theFebruary 1982 general election. McEllistrim was appointed asMinister of State at the Department of Fisheries and Forestry with responsibility for Forestry, serving from March to December 1982.[4]
McEllistrim lost his seat at the1987 general election by four votes toDick Spring. After beingnominated toSeanad Éireann as a senator, he regained his seat at the1989 general election but did not retain it at the1992 general election when he lost to constituency colleagueDenis Foley.
McEllistrim died aged 74 on 25 February 2000. His son,Tom McEllistrim, was a TD for Kerry North from 2002 to 2011.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of State at the Department of Finance 1979–1981 | Succeeded by |
| New office | Minister of State at the Department of Fisheries and Forestry Mar.–Dec. 1982 | Succeeded by |