Neil Blaney

Neil Terence Columba Blaney ( Irish Niall Bléine , born October 30, 1922 in Fanad , County Donegal , † November 8, 1995 in Dublin ) was an Irish politician of the Fianna Fáil and several times a minister.

biography

Promotion to minister and dismissal due to the arms crisis in 1970

Blaney, who was a businessman and farmer by profession , was a son of Neal Blaney , who had represented the Fianna Fáil from 1927 to 1938 and again between 1943 and 1948 as a member of the Dáil Éireann. He began his political career as a candidate of the Fianna Fáil when made necessary by the death of his father -election ( by-election ) on December 7, 1948 with the election of the deputies of the lower house ( Dáil Éireann ). He was able to prevail with 19,570 votes (55.53%) clearly against the former member of the Fine Gael , Joseph McGinley , and the candidate of the Clann na Poblachta , James O'Donnell. After his election, the youngest member of parliament was given the unofficial title of "Baby of the Dáil" between 1948 and 1949, succeeding the youngest Teachta Dála Oliver J. Flanagan . First he represented the constituency of Donegal East from 1948 to 1961 and the constituency of Donegal North-East from 1961 to 1970 .

After the Fianna Fáil electoral victory, he was appointed Minister of Post and Telegraphy by Prime Minister ( Taoiseach ) Éamon de Valera on March 20, 1957 , but held this post only until December 4, 1957. At the same time, he became Minister on November 27, 1957 for local administration and held this ministerial office under de Valera's successor Seán Lemass until November 10, 1966.

After Prime Minister Jack Lynch took office , he became Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries on November 10, 1966. From this office he was dismissed by Prime Minister Lynch on May 7, 1970 because of his involvement in the so-called Irish arms crisis together with Finance Minister Charles J. Haughey . The two ministers, along with a British Army officer , a member of the IRA and Belgian arms dealer Albert Luykx, were charged with importing £ 100,000 worth of arms for the IRA . The money was stolen from funds intended to aid Catholic civilians during the Northern Ireland conflict. In a subsequent trial, Blaney was acquitted on July 2, 1970, while the other accused were acquitted on October 23, 1970 .

Resigns from Fianna Fáil, member of parliament and member of the European Parliament

In protest against his dismissal by Lynch, however, Blaney resigned from the Fianna Fáil and joined the Independent Fianna Fáil ( Fianna Fáil Neamhspleách ), a splinter group of the party.

He was re-elected as a Member of the House of Commons in the Donegal North-East constituency in 1973 and was re-elected six more times. In Dáil Éireann he represented the constituency of Donegal between 1977 and 1981 and then again the constituency of Donegal North-East until his death on November 8, 1995 .

Between 1979 and 1984 Blaney was also a member of the 1st European Parliament . He was also a member of the European Parliament as representative of Ireland during the third electoral term from 1989 to 1994 and was a representative of Connaught-Ulster during these memberships .

After Oliver J. Flanagan's departure from the House of Commons, he became the longest serving member of the House of Commons on February 17, 1987 and has now received the unofficial title of "Father of the Dáil".

When Blaney died in office in November 1995, there was a by-election in the Donegal North-East constituency on April 2, 1996 , in which the Fianna Fáil candidate, Cecilia Keaveney , was elected. This was able to prevail against Blaney's younger brother Harry Blaney , who had competed for the Independent Fianna Fáil (IFF) and had represented it from 1997 to 2002 in the Dáil Éireann.

Neil Blaney's sons Dara Blaney and Eamonn Blaney each ran as a non- party candidate in the February 25, 2011 elections, unsuccessfully, for a seat in the Dáil Éireann. His nephews, the sons of his younger brother Harry Blaney, are also politically active, namely Liam Blaney for the IFF and currently for the Fianna Fáil as a member of the Donegal Council , while Niall Blaney was also a member of the Dáil Éireann from 2002 to 2011 and was a member of this, initially as a representative of the IFF and, since July 2006, of the Fianna Fáil.

Web links

• Homepage of the Oireachtas
• Entry on electionsireland.org
• Irish Ministeries (rulers.org)
• Entry on Neil Blaney in the European Parliament 's database of MEPs

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Neal Blaney on the Oireachtas page
2. ↑ Neal Blaney at electionsireland.org
3. ↑ Harry Blaney on the Oireachtas page
4. ↑ Harry Blaney on electionsireland.org
5. ↑ Dara Blaney at electionsireland.org
6. ↑ Eamonn Blaney at electionsireland.org
7. ↑ Liam Blaney at electionsireland.org
8. ↑ Niall Blaney on the Oireachtas page
9. ^ Niall Blaney on electionsireland.org