Mary O'Rourke
Mary O'Rourke (née Lenihan; born 31 May 1937) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Leader of the Seanad and Leader of Fianna Fáil in the Seanad from 2002 to 2007, Deputy leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2002, Minister for Public Enterprise from 1997 to 2002, Minister for Health from 1991 to 1992 and Minister for Education from 1987 to 1991. She also served as a Minister of State from 1992 to 1994. She served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1982 to 2002 and 2007 to 2011. She served as a Senator for the Cultural and Educational Panel from 1981 to 1982 and from 2002 to 2007, after being Nominated by the Taoiseach.[1]
Mary O'Rourke | |
|---|---|
| Leader of the Seanad | |
| In office 1 September 2002 – 25 July 2007 | |
| Taoiseach | Bertie Ahern |
| Preceded by | Donie Cassidy |
| Succeeded by | Donie Cassidy |
| Leader of Fianna Fáil in the Seanad | |
| In office 1 September 2002 – 25 July 2007 | |
| Leader | Bertie Ahern |
| Preceded by | Donie Cassidy |
| Succeeded by | Donie Cassidy |
| Deputy leader of Fianna Fáil | |
| In office 20 November 1994 – 7 July 2002 | |
| Leader | Bertie Ahern |
| Preceded by | Bertie Ahern |
| Succeeded by | Brian Cowen |
| Minister for Public Enterprise | |
| In office 26 June 1997 – 6 June 2002 | |
| Taoiseach | Bertie Ahern |
| Preceded by | Alan Dukes (Transport, Energy and Communications) |
| Succeeded by | Séamus Brennan (Transport) |
| Minister for Health | |
| In office 12 July 1991 – 11 February 1992 | |
| Taoiseach | Charles Haughey |
| Preceded by | Rory O'Hanlon |
| Succeeded by | John O'Connell |
| Minister for Education | |
| In office 10 March 1987 – 11 February 1991 | |
| Taoiseach | Charles Haughey |
| Preceded by | Patrick Cooney |
| Succeeded by | Noel Davern |
| Minister of State | |
| 1993–1994 | Enterprise and Employment |
| 1992–1993 | Industry and Commerce |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office May 2007 – February 2011 | |
| In office November 1982 – November 1992 | |
| Constituency | Longford–Westmeath |
| In office November 1992 – June 2002 | |
| Constituency | Westmeath |
| Senator | |
| In office 12 September 2002 – 14 May 2007 | |
| Constituency | Nominated by the Taoiseach |
| In office 16 October 1981 – 22 November 1982 | |
| Constituency | Cultural and Educational Panel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mary Lenihan 31 May 1937 Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland |
| Political party | Fianna Fáil |
| Spouse | Enda O'Rourke (m. 1962; died 2001) |
| Children | 2, including Feargal |
| Parent |
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| Relatives |
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| Alma mater | |
Early life edit
She was born in Athlone, County Westmeath, in 1937. She was educated at St. Peter's, Athlone; Loreto Bray Convent, County Wicklow; University College Dublin and St Patrick's College, Maynooth. She worked as a secondary school teacher before she began her political career.
Political career edit
O'Rourke began her political career in local politics, serving on Athlone Urban District Council between 1974 and 1987 and on Westmeath County Council between 1979 and 1987. She was elected to Seanad Éireann in 1981 as a Senator for the Cultural and Educational Panel. She stood unsuccessfully for the Dáil at the February 1982 general election, but was subsequently re-elected to the Seanad. At the November 1982 general election, she was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil TD for the Longford–Westmeath constituency, and from 1992 for the new Westmeath constituency.[2]
In 1987, she was appointed Minister for Education by Charles Haughey. O'Rourke and her brother, Brian Lenihan, became the first brother and sister in Irish history to serve in the same cabinet. In the November 1991 cabinet reshuffle, O'Rourke became Minister for Health. In February 1992, Charles Haughey resigned as Taoiseach and Fianna Fáil leader. O'Rourke contested the subsequent leadership election along with Michael Woods and Albert Reynolds. Reynolds defeated the other two contenders and O'Rourke was subsequently dropped from her ministerial position, but was appointed to a junior ministry as Minister of State at the Department of Industry and Commerce with responsibility for Trade and Marketing. In January 1993, she was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise and Employment with responsibility for Labour Affairs, serving until the fall of the Reynolds government in December 1994.
In 1994, Bertie Ahern became party leader and he appointed O'Rourke as deputy leader of Fianna Fáil, serving in the position until 2002. Following Ahern's election as Taoiseach in June 1997, O'Rourke became Minister for Public Enterprise, holding this position until she lost her Dáil seat at the 2002 general election. This followed a vote management strategy from Fianna Fáil head office which restricted her from campaigning in her traditional areas around Kilbeggan, in an attempt to win 2 of the 3 seats in Westmeath. The loss of her Dáil seat has also been attributed to her association with and the championing of, the privatisation of Telecom Éireann, which proved a financial disaster for many small investors, due to the share price falling radically, post privatisation. During this term as Minister, she also became the subject of public criticism by Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary. Following the loss of her Dáil seat, she was nominated to Seanad Éireann as a Senator by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern where she became Leader of the Seanad and leader of Fianna Fáil in the Seanad.
In January 2006, O'Rourke received the party nomination to stand at the 2007 general election. She narrowly defeated her nearest rival and Dáil election running mate, Kevin "Boxer" Moran of Athlone Town Council, causing a controversy when she thanked her election team for working "like blacks."[3] In May 2007, she was re-elected to the Dáil at the 2007 general election, with her highest ever vote.
In November 2008, during a march against the re-introduction of college fees, students from the Athlone Institute of Technology laid a funeral wreath at the door of O'Rourke's constituency office. The card in the wreath stated "Sincere sympathies on the death of free fees. We will remember this." O'Rourke described the act as "heinous". The wreath was placed there because O'Rourke was not speaking at a rally against the fees.[4]
In July 2010, O'Rourke conceded that she did not expect the party to be in power after the next general election. On RTÉ Radio's Today with Pat Kenny programme, O'Rourke said the government was taking tough decisions to steer the country through the financial crisis and this would make it easy for the opposition. She said there was a general air of "crossness" within the Fianna Fáil party over their standing in the polls, but nobody was harboring leadership ambitions to challenge Brian Cowen.[5]
O'Rourke in November 2010 said there was then more to unite her party and Fine Gael than to divide them. She pointed to the common approach of the two parties to Northern Ireland, Europe and the current financial crisis. In an address to the 1916–1921 Club in Dublin Castle last night, she said that most voters no longer defined themselves in terms of Civil War politics. Having pointed to the shared values of the two parties on a number of issues, she said the last issue she wanted to mention was the "dreaded b" word.[6]
Her senior years led her to often being referred to as the "Mammy of the Dáil".[7][8][9]
She contested the 2011 general election, but was defeated on the poll.[7] O'Rourke has criticised former Taoiseach Brian Cowen, saying that he should have resigned after his infamous "congested" radio interview.[10] She supported the attack on Cowen by her nephew, former Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, who said he was "disappointed" by Cowen's performance and he had to provide the leadership when the Taoiseach did not.[10]
In retirement, she received a lump sum of €237,000 and an annual pension of €97,000.[11]
Other activities edit
As well as being a well-known politician, O'Rourke makes regular appearances in the media in a non-political capacity. She has been a contestant on RTÉ's reality series Celebrity Bainisteoir, as well as other shows such as Sex & Sensibility.[12] She has guest presented Tonight with Vincent Browne.
In 2012, Just Mary: My Memoir was published. It won the 2012 Irish Book Award in the "Listeners' Choice" category.[13][14]
Family edit
O'Rourke comes from a strong political family, her father Patrick Lenihan served as a TD for Longford–Westmeath from 1965 to 1970. Her brother Brian Lenihan was a senior government Minister and Tánaiste. Another brother Paddy Lenihan was a County Councillor in Roscommon, but resigned from Fianna Fáil in 1983 and became associated with Neil Blaney's Independent Fianna Fáil party. Two of her nephews, Brian Lenihan Jnr and Conor Lenihan, both sons of her brother Brian, served as Ministers. Brian Lenihan Jnr was the Minister for Finance. Conor Lenihan was a Minister of State.
O'Rourke was widowed in January 2001, following the death of her husband, Enda. She has two sons. One of them, Aengus O'Rourke (her adopted son), ran for Athlone Town Council in 2009.[8] The other son, Feargal O'Rourke, became Managing Partner of PriceWaterHouseCoopers in Ireland in 2015[15] and is considered the "grand architect" of the double Irish tax system,[16][17] a major contributor to Ireland's economic success in attracting US multinationals to Ireland.[18]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Mary O'Rourke". Oireachtas Members Database. from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2009.
- ^ "Mary O'Rourke". ElectionsIreland.org. from the original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved 14 October 2009.
- ^ "O'Rourke Sparks Row Over 'Blacks' Remark". Irish Independent. 9 January 2006. from the original on 28 November 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2008.
- ^ . Sunday Tribune. 9 November 2008. Archived from the original on 30 November 2010.
- ^ "O'Rourke: Expects Fianna Fáil to lose power". RTÉ News. 6 July 2010. from the original on 23 February 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
- ^ "Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael share many values now - O'Rourke". The Irish Times. 13 November 2010. from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
- ^ a b "Lenihan, face of Irish crisis, survives election". Reuters. 26 February 2011. from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
- ^ a b "O'Rourke enlists help from the 'Mammy'". Irish Independent. 1 June 2009. from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
- ^ "'Mammy' O'Rourke surrenders pension without a fight". Sunday Independent. 26 April 2009. from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
- ^ a b "O'Rourke joins attack on Cowen". Sunday Independent. 16 March 2011. from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
- ^ "Outgoing TDs pensions" (PDF). The Irish Times. 5 March 2011. (PDF) from the original on 10 March 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
- ^ "'Sex and Sensibility' begins on RTÉ". Irish Film & Television Network. 11 June 2008. from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2009.
- ^ Boland, Rosita (23 November 2012). "Banville wins novel of year at awards". The Irish Times. from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
- ^ Murphy, Cormac (23 November 2012). "'Mammy' Mary enjoys literary success and picks up gong". Herald. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
- ^ "New leader at PwC". PriceWaterHouseCoopers Ireland. July 2015. from the original on 25 March 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
- ^ "Man Making Ireland Tax Avoidance Hub Proves Local Hero". Bloomberg News. 28 October 2013. from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
- ^ "Controversial tax strategies brainchild of O'Rourke's son". Irish Independent. 3 November 2013. from the original on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
- ^ "Scion of a prominent political dynasty who gave his vote to accountancy". Irish Times. 8 May 2015. from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.