Records of members of the Oireachtas

This is a list of records relating to the Oireachtas (National Parliament of Ireland).^[1] The First Dáil Éireann consisted of the Sinn Féin MPs who were elected in the United Kingdom general election of 14 December 1918. They refused to attend the British House of Commons and instead assembled for the first time on 21 January 1919 in the Mansion House in Dublin as the revolutionary unicameral Dáil Éireann.

1118 Teachtaí Dála (TDs) served in the Dáil between 1919 and 2003. The title Father of the Dáil is usually and unofficially conferred on the longest-serving member.

Longest-serving former TDs

This is a list of former TDs who have served at least 30 years in the Dáil. Unless otherwise specified, start and end dates given are those of the relevant general election. It can be assumed unless stated otherwise that the member did not stand in the end-date election, as opposed to standing and failing to be elected.

Name		Elected b = by-election	Vacated seat	Yrs/Mnths	Notes
Paddy Smith	Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin/ Fianna Fáil	1923	1977	53y 11m	Former cabinet minister
Frank Aiken	Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin/ Fianna Fáil	1923	1973	49y 6m	Longest-serving cabinet minister (1932–48,1951–54,1957–69)
Neil Blaney	Fianna Fáil/ Independent Fianna Fáil	1948 b	Died on 8 November 1995	46y 11m	Former cabinet minister
Thomas McEllistrim	Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin/ Fianna Fáil	1923	1969	45y 10m
Séamus Pattison	Labour Party	1961	2007	45y 8m	Former Ceann Comhairle
Seán MacEntee	Sinn Féin/ Fianna Fáil	1918	1969	45y 6m	Did not serve between the general elections of 1922 and June 1927
James Ryan	Sinn Féin/ Fianna Fáil	1918	1965	45y 2m	Long-serving cabinet minister. Did not serve between the general elections of 1922 and 1923 (1y 2m)
Seán Lemass	Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin/ Fianna Fáil	1924 b	1969	44y 7m	Taoiseach from 1959 until 1966
James Everett	Labour Party/ National Labour Party	1923	Died on 18 December 1967	44y 4m	Former cabinet minister; leader of the breakaway National Labour Party 1944–50
Oliver J. Flanagan	Fine Gael	1943	1987	43y 8m	Former cabinet minister
Martin Corry	Fianna Fáil	June 1927	1969	41y 10m
Patrick McGilligan	Cumann na nGaedheal/ Fine Gael	1923 b	1965	41y 5m	Attorney General from 1954 until 1957
Richard Mulcahy	Sinn Féin/ Cumann na nGaedheal/ Fine Gael	1918	1961	41y	Did not serve between general elections of 1937 and 1938, nor between those of 1943 and 1944
Éamon de Valera	Sinn Féin/ Fianna Fáil	1918	Elected President in 1959	40y 6m	Former Taoiseach and President of Ireland; first elected to Westminster at the June 1917 by-election
Cormac Breslin	Fianna Fáil	1937	1977	40y	Ceann Comhairle from 1967 until 1973
Patrick Hogan	Labour Party	1923	Died on 24 January 1969	39y 8m	Did not serve between the general elections of 1938 and 1943, nor between those of 1944 and 1948
Gerald Boland	Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin/ Fianna Fáil	1923	1961	38y 2m	Long-serving cabinet minister
Liam Cosgrave	Fine Gael	1943	1981	38y	Taoiseach from 1973 until 1977
Dan Spring	Labour Party/ National Labour Party	1943	1981	38y	Member of the breakaway National Labour Party 1944-50
Ruairi Quinn	Labour Party	1977	2016	38y	Senator from 1981 to February 1982
Michael Kennedy	Fianna Fáil	June 1927	1965	37y 10m
Seán Brady	Fianna Fáil	September 1927	1965	37y 7m
Bob Briscoe	Fianna Fáil	September 1927	1965	37y 7m
James Dillon	Centre Party/ Fine Gael	1932	1969	37y 4m	Leader of Fine Gael from 1959 until 1965
David Andrews	Fianna Fáil	1965	2002	37y 1m
Ben Briscoe	Fianna Fáil	1965	2002	37y 1m
Bobby Molloy	Fianna Fáil/ Progressive Democrats	1965	2002	37y 1m	Joined Progressive Democrats in 1986; previously Fianna Fáil
Brendan Corish	Labour Party	1945 b	February 1982	36y 2m	Tánaiste from 1973 until 1977
Dan Breen	Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin/ Fianna Fáil	1923	1965	35y 11m	Did not serve between the general elections of June 1927 and 1932
Paddy Harte	Fine Gael	1961	1997	35y 8m	Former Father of the Dáil
Charles Haughey	Fianna Fáil	1957	1992	35y 8m	Taoiseach on three occasions
Seán Treacy	Labour Party/ Independent	1961	1997	35y 8m	Ceann Comhairle from 1987 until 1997
John A. Costello	Fine Gael	1933	1969	35y 7m	Did not serve between the general elections of 1943 and 1944. Taoiseach on two occasions.
Vivion de Valera	Fianna Fáil	1945 b	1981	35y 7m	Son of Éamon de Valera
John Bruton	Fine Gael	1969	Resigned on 31 October 2004	35y 4m	Taoiseach from 1994 until 1997. Resigned as TD to become EU Ambassador to the United States
Erskine H. Childers	Fianna Fáil	1938	Elected President in 1973	35y	Former Tánaiste and President of Ireland
Frank Fahy	Sinn Féin/ Fianna Fáil	1918	Died on 14 July 1953	34y 10m	Former Ceann Comhairle
Micheál Ó Móráin	Fianna Fáil	1938	1973	34y 8m	Former cabinet minister
Maurice E. Dockrell	Fine Gael	1943	1977	34y 1m
Desmond O'Malley	Fianna Fáil/ Progressive Democrats	1968 b	2002	34y	Founder of the Progressive Democrats and former cabinet minister
Dinny McGinley	Fine Gael	February 1982	2016	34y
Bertie Ahern	Fianna Fáil	1977	2011	33y 8m	Former Taoiseach
Rory O'Hanlon	Fianna Fáil	1977	2011	33y 8m	Former Ceann Comhairle
Jim O'Keeffe	Fine Gael	1977	2011	33y 8m	Former cabinet minister
Michael Woods	Fianna Fáil	1977	2011	33y 8m	Former cabinet minister
Daniel Morrissey	Cumann na nGaedheal/ Fine Gael	1923	1957	33y 7m	Former cabinet minister
Jack Lynch	Fianna Fáil	1948	1981	33y 4m	Taoiseach on two occasions
John Browne	Fianna Fáil	November 1982	2016	33y 3m
Séamus Kirk	Fianna Fáil	November 1982	2016	33y 3m	Former Ceann Comhairle
Gerald Bartley	Fianna Fáil	1932	1965	33y 2m	Former cabinet minister
Seán Mac Eoin	Cumann na nGaedheal/ Fine Gael	1932	1965	33y 2m	Former cabinet minister
Michael P. Kitt	Fianna Fáil	1975 b	2016	32y 11m	Senator from 1977 to 1981, and from 2002 to 2007
Noel Davern	Fianna Fáil	1969	2007	32y 4m	Did not serve from 11 June 1981 to 17 February 1987 (5y 8m)
Addendum
Mary Harney	Fianna Fáil/ PD/ Independent	1981	2011	29y 8m	Former Tánaiste and longest ever serving female TD. Also served in the Seanad from 1977–81

Shortest-serving former TDs

This is a list of former TDs who served for less than 1 year in the Dáil. Unless otherwise specified, start and end dates given are those of the relevant general election.

Name		Elected b = by-election	Vacated seat	Months	Notes
Kieran Doherty	Anti H-Block	1981	Died on 2 August 1981	2m	Died after 73 days on hunger strike
Pierce McCan	Sinn Féin	1918	Died on 6 March 1919	3m	The Westminster election was on 14 December 1918, but the First Dáil did not sit until 21 January 1919
Michael Carter	Farmers' Party	June 1927	Lost seat in September 1927	3m
Arthur Clery	Independent	June 1927	Lost seat in September 1927	3m
Denis Cullen	Labour Party	June 1927	Lost seat in September 1927	3m
William Duffy	National League Party	June 1927	Did not contest September 1927	3m
Thomas Falvey	Farmers' Party	June 1927	Lost seat in September 1927	3m
Hugh Garahan	Farmers' Party	June 1927	Lost seat in September 1927	3m
John Gill	Labour Party	June 1927	Lost seat in September 1927	3m
Gilbert Hewson	Independent	June 1927	Lost seat in September 1927	3m
John Horgan	National League Party	June 1927	Lost seat in September 1927	3m
John Jinks	National League Party	June 1927	Lost seat in September 1927	3m
Gilbert Lynch	Labour Party	June 1927	Lost seat in September 1927	3m
Eugene Mullen	Fianna Fáil	June 1927	Lost seat in September 1927	3m
David O'Gorman	Farmers' Party	June 1927	Lost seat in September 1927	3m
Timothy Quill	Labour Party	June 1927	Lost seat in September 1927	3m
James Shannon	Labour Party	June 1927	Lost seat in September 1927	3m
Thomas Tynan	Fianna Fáil	June 1927	Lost seat in September 1927	3m
Frank Drohan	Sinn Féin	1921	Resigned on 5 January 1922	7m	Returned unopposed on 24 May 1921; the Second Dáil convened on 16 August 1921.
George Lee	Fine Gael	June 2009 b	Resigned on 8 February 2010	8m
Carrie Acheson	Fianna Fáil	1981	Lost seat in February 1982	9m
Paddy Agnew	Anti H-Block	1981	Did not contest February 1982	9m
Carey Joyce	Fianna Fáil	1981	Lost seat in February 1982	9m
Seán Dublin Bay Loftus	Independent	1981	Lost seat in February 1982	9m
Hugh Kennedy	Cumann na nGaedheal	October 1923 b	Resigned on 25 June 1924	9m	Resigned to become Chief Justice of the Irish Free State
Thomas Bellew	Fianna Fáil	February 1982	Lost seat in November 1982	10m
Gerry Brady	Fianna Fáil	February 1982	Lost seat in November 1982	10m
Ned Brennan	Fianna Fáil	February 1982	Lost seat in November 1982	10m
Jim Corr	Fine Gael	February 1982	Did not contest November 1982	10m
Henry Coyle	Cumann na nGaedheal	1923	Disqualified on 9 May 1924	10m	Sentenced to three years' imprisonment for bouncing cheques
Alexis FitzGerald, Jnr	Fine Gael	February 1982	Lost seat in November 1982	10m
Patrick Gallagher	Sinn Féin (Workers Party)	February 1982	Lost seat in November 1982	10m
Thomas O'Mahony	Cumann na nGaedheal	1923	Died on 20 July 1924	11m
Richard Stapleton	Labour Party	1943	Lost seat in 1944	11m

The following were eligible for membership of the Dáil, but as Unionists, they did not recognise it. Those elected to Westminster in 1918 were eligible for the First Dáil.^[2]

Name		Elected	Vacated Westminster seat	Months	Notes
Hugh Anderson	Irish Unionist Alliance	1918	Resignation in 1919	< 3m	By-election was held on 4 March 1919
Robert McCalmont	Irish Unionist Alliance	1918	Appointment as Commander of the Irish Guards in 1919	< 6m	By-election was held on 27 May 1919
Arthur Warren Samuels	Irish Unionist Alliance	1918	Appointment to the King's Bench in 1919	< 8m	By-election was held on 28 July 1919

Current office-holders, longest service in the Oireachtas

This is a list of current members of the Oireachtas who have served for at least 20 years, with continuous or broken service. Unless otherwise specified, start dates given are those of the relevant election.

Name		Office	First elected/appointed b = by-election	Years/Months (as of 7 May 2016)	Notes
Enda Kenny	Fine Gael	TD	1975 b	40 years, 5 months	Current Taoiseach and Father of the Dáil
Michael D. Higgins	Labour Party	Senator / TD / President	1973	37 years, 8 month(s) (as of Jan 2016)	Current President of Ireland Did not hold office between 1977 and 1981, and February and November 2011
Michael Noonan	Fine Gael	TD	1981	34 years, 10 months
Bernard Durkan	Fine Gael	TD / Senator	1981	34 years, 10 months	Senator from February 1982 to November 1982
Richard Bruton	Fine Gael	Senator / TD	1981	34 years, 6 months	Senator from October 1981 to February 1982
Shane Ross	Independent	Senator / TD	1981	34 years, 6 months	Senator from 1981 to 2011
Willie O'Dea	Fianna Fáil	TD	February 1982	34 years, 2 months
Brendan Howlin	Labour Party	Senator / TD	1983	33 years, 2 months	Senator from 1983 to 1987
Seán Barrett	Fine Gael	TD	1981	29 years, 5 month(s) (as of Jan 2016)	Did not hold office between 2002 and 2007
Michael Lowry	Independent	TD	1987	29 years, 2 months
Terry Leyden	Fianna Fáil	TD / Senator	1977	28 years, 9 month(s) (as of Jan 2016)	Did not hold office for 9y, 9m between December 1992 and September 2002
Paul Bradford	Fine Gael	Senator / TD	1987	29 years	Senator from 1987 to 1989, and from 2002 to present
David Norris	Independent	Senator	1987	29 years
Micheál Martin	Fianna Fáil	TD	1989	26 years, 10 months	Leader of Fianna Fáil
Éamon Ó Cuív	Fianna Fáil	Senator / TD	1989	26 years, 7 months	Senator from 1989 to 1992
Paschal Mooney	Fianna Fáil	Senator	1987	26 years, 1 month (as of Jan 2016)	Did not hold office between July 2007 and January 2010
Charles Flanagan	Fine Gael	TD	1987	23 years, 10 month(s) (as of Jan 2016)	Did not hold office between 2002 and 2007
Sean Haughey	Fianna Fáil	TD	1987	23 years, 10 month(s) (as of Mar 2016)	Senator from 1987 to 1992. Did not hold office between February 2011 and February 2016.
Tommy Broughan	Independents 4 Change	TD	1992	23 years, 5 months
Willie Penrose	Labour Party	TD	1992	23 years, 5 months
Róisín Shortall	Social Democrats	TD	1992	23 years, 5 months
Brendan Smith	Fianna Fáil	TD	1992	23 years, 5 months
Pat the Cope Gallagher	Fianna Fáil	TD	1981	23 years, 1 month(s) (as of Mar 2016)	Did not hold office between June 1997 and May 2002 and between June 2009 and February 2016.
Billy Kelleher	Fianna Fáil	Senator / TD	1993	23 years, 2 months	Senator from 1993 to 1997
Paddy Burke	Fine Gael	Senator	1993	23 years, 2 months	Current Cathaoirleach
Feargal Quinn	Independent	Senator	1993	23 years, 2 months
Jan O'Sullivan	Labour Party	TD / Senator	1993	22 years, 1 month (as of Jan 2016)	Senator from 1993 to 1997 Did not hold office between June 1997 and March 1998
Michael Ring	Fine Gael	TD	1994 b	21 years, 10 months
Michael Creed	Fine Gael	TD	1989	21 years, 7 month(s) (as of Jan 2016)	Did not hold office between May 2002 and May 2007
Denis O'Donovan	Fianna Fáil	Senator / TD	1989	21 years, 5 month(s) (as of Jan 2016)	Did not hold office between December 1992 and September 1997

Longest-serving Senators

This is a list of current and former Senators who have served for at least 20 years in the Seanad, including both the Free State Seanad and the Seanad established under the 1937 Constitution. There was a 22-month gap between the abolition of the Free State Seanad in 1936 and the inauguration in 1938 of the 2nd Seanad, the first incarnation of the new body.

Name		First elected	Vacated seat	Years/Months	Notes
Henry Barniville	Fine Gael	6 December 1922	23 September 1960	35 years, 11 months	Service interrupted by the abolition of the Free State Seanad
Margaret Mary Pearse	Fianna Fáil	27 April 1938	7 November 1968	30 years, 6 months
Eoin Ryan, Snr	Fianna Fáil	22 May 1957	3 April 1987	29 years, 10 months
Liam Ó Buachalla	Fianna Fáil	7 October 1939	24 July 1969	29 years, 9 months
Shane Ross	Independent	8 October 1981	26 February 2011	29 years, 4 months
David Norris^†	Independent	25 April 1987	Incumbent	29 years
James G. Douglas	Independent	6 December 1922	16 September 1954	28 years, 9 months	Service interrupted by the abolition of the Free State Seanad; Did not serve in 4th Seanad
Rory Kiely	Fianna Fáil	27 October 1977	22 July 2007	28 years, 9 months	Did not serve in 16th Seanad
Patrick McGowan	Fianna Fáil	23 June 1965	3 October 1999	28 years, 5 months	Did not serve in 15th, 16th and 17th Seanad
Des Hanafin	Fianna Fáil	5 November 1969	26 June 2002	27 years, 10 months	Did not serve in 20th Seanad
William Ryan	Fianna Fáil	14 December 1961	5 July 1989	27 years, 6 months
Michael Hayes	Fine Gael	27 April 1938	28 April 1965	27 years
Charles McDonald	Fine Gael	14 December 1961	17 December 1992	26 years, 4 months	Did not serve in 13th Seanad
Paschal Mooney	Fianna Fáil	25 April 1987	April 2016	26 years, 4 months	Did not serve 2y, 6m from July 2007 to January 2010
John Counihan	Independent	6 December 1922	25 July 1951	26 years, 3 months	Did not serve in 2nd Seanad
Thomas Ruane	Fianna Fáil	6 December 1934	28 April 1965	25 years, 9 months	Service interrupted by the abolition of the Free State Seanad; Did not serve in 4th and 6th Seanad
Patrick O'Reilly	Fianna Fáil	18 August 1944	24 July 1969	24 years, 11 months
Seán O'Donovan	Fianna Fáil	27 April 1938	24 July 1969	24 years, 10 months	Did not serve in 6th and 8th Seanad
Mick Lanigan	Fianna Fáil	27 October 1977	26 June 2002	24 years, 7 months
Joe O'Toole	Independent	25 April 1987	29 April 2011	24 years
Donie Cassidy	Fianna Fáil	13 May 1982	29 April 2011	24 years	Did not serve in 22nd Seanad from 2002 to 2007
Paddy Burke^†	Fine Gael	17 February 1993	Incumbent	23 years, 2 months
Feargal Quinn	Independent	17 February 1993	April 2016	23 years, 2 months
James Parkinson	Cumann na nGaedheal	6 December 1922	31 July 1947	22 years, 9 months	Service interrupted by the abolition of the Free State Seanad
Patrick Baxter	Clann na Talmhan	6 December 1934	3 April 1959	22 years, 5 months	Service interrupted by the abolition of the Free State Seanad
John Butler	Labour Party	27 April 1938	28 April 1965	22 years, 3 months	Did not serve in 9th Seanad
Seán Hayes	Fianna Fáil	27 April 1938	28 April 1965	22 years, 2 months	Did not serve in 4th and 6th Seanad
William O'Callaghan	Independent	27 April 1938	1 September 1961	22 years, 2 months	Did not serve in 4th Seanad
James Tunney	Labour Party	27 April 1938	1 September 1961	22 years, 2 months	Did not serve in 4th Seanad
Thomas Foran	Labour Party	28 November 1923	12 March 1948	22 years	Did not serve in 2nd Seanad
Patrick Fitzsimons	Independent	21 April 1948	30 March 1973	22 years	Did not serve in 8th Seanad
Peter Lynch	Independent	7 September 1938	1 September 1961	22 years
Sir John Keane	Independent	6 December 1922	12 March 1948	21 years, 10 months	Did not serve in 1934–36 Seanad
Francis O'Brien	Fianna Fáil	1 October 1989	29 April 2011	21 years, 7 months
William Quirke	Independent	6 December 1931	5 March 1955	21 years, 4 months	Service interrupted by the abolition of the Free State Seanad
William Bedell Stanford	Independent	21 April 1948	24 July 1969	21 years, 3 months
Michael Yeats	Fianna Fáil	14 August 1951	12 March 1980	21 years	Did not serve in 8th and 9th Seanad
James Dooge	Fine Gael	14 December 1961	3 April 1987	20 years, 10 months	Did not serve in 14th Seanad
Micheál Prendergast	Fine Gael	22 July 1954	26 May 1977	20 years, 9 months	Did not serve from March 1973 to April 1975
Brian Mullooly	Fianna Fáil	8 October 1981	26 June 2002	20 years, 8 months
Brendan Ryan	Independent	13 May 1982	22 July 2007	20 years, 5 months	Did not serve in 20th Seanad
Eddie Bohan	Fianna Fáil	25 April 1987	22 July 2007	20 years, 2 months
Don Lydon	Fianna Fáil	25 April 1987	22 July 2007	20 years, 2 months
Bernard McGlinchey	Fianna Fáil	14 December 1961	21 December 1982	20 years, 2 months	Did not serve in 15th Seanad
Patrick Quinlan	Independent	22 May 1957	26 May 1977	20 years

^†Serving senator

Oldest living former office-holders

Aged 85 or older:

Name	Office(s) held	Date of birth	Age
Eddie Filgate	TD	16 September 1915	100 years, 7 months
T. K. Whitaker	Senator	8 December 1916	99 years, 4 months
Liam Cosgrave	Taoiseach	13 April 1920	96 years
Joseph Dowling	TD / Senator	2 February 1922	94 years, 3 months
Thomas Finlay	TD / Chief Justice	17 September 1922	93 years, 7 months
Seán Treacy	Ceann Comhairle	23 September 1923	92 years, 7 months
Donal Creed	TD	7 September 1924	91 years, 8 months
Patrick Byrne	TD	2 April 1925	91 years, 1 month
Hugh Conaghan	TD	6 May 1926	90 years
Patrick Lalor	TD	21 July 1926	89 years, 9 months
Tom Fitzpatrick	TD	29 July 1926	89 years, 9 months
Tom O'Donnell	TD	30 August 1926	89 years, 8 months
John A. Murphy	Senator	17 January 1927	89 years, 3 months
Jimmy Leonard	TD	5 June 1927	88 years, 11 months
Maurice Hayes	Senator	8 July 1927	88 years, 9 months
Jackie Fahey	TD	23 January 1928	88 years, 3 months
Joan Burke	TD	8 February 1928	88 years, 2 months
William J. Murphy	TD	17 May 1928	87 years, 11 months
Peter Barry	TD	10 August 1928	87 years, 8 months
Patrick Norton	TD / Senator	1928	87 years, 4 months+
Richie Ryan	TD / MEP	27 February 1929	87 years, 2 months

Oldest ever office-holders

Office holders aged 75 or older:

Name	Office	Age	Year
Éamon de Valera	President	Retired aged 90	1973
Gerald Boland	Senator	Retired aged 84	1969
Seán MacEntee	TD	Retired aged 80	1969
Maurice Hayes	Senator	Retired aged 80	2007
Charles Fagan	TD	Retired aged 80	1961
Jackie Healy-Rae	TD	Retired aged 79	2011
Feargal Quinn	Senator	Retired aged 79	2016
James Everett	TD	Died aged 78	1967
James Ryan	Senator	Retired aged 77	1969
Seán T. O'Kelly	President	Retired aged 77	1959
P. J. Sheehan	TD	Retired aged 77	2011
Rory O'Hanlon	TD	Retired aged 77	2011
Paddy Smith	TD	Retired aged 76	1977
Ann Ormonde	Senator	Lost seat aged 76	2011
Labhrás Ó Murchú	Senator	Retired aged 76	2016
Michael D. Higgins	President	In office aged 75 years	—

Youngest ever office-holders

Name	Office	Age on election	Year elected
William J. Murphy	TD	21y 1m	1949
Joseph Sweeney	TD	21y 6m	1918
Lorcan Allen	TD	21y 6m	1961
Kathleen O'Connor	TD	21y 7m	1956
Ivan Yates	TD	21y 8m	1981
Mary Coughlan	TD	21y 9m	1987
John Bruton	TD	22y 1m	1969
Paddy Smith	TD	22y 2m	1923
Miriam Kearney	Senator	22y 3m	1981
Myra Barry	TD	22y 4m	1979
Síle de Valera	TD	22y 6m	1977
Kathryn Reilly	Senator	22y 7m	2011
Oliver J. Flanagan	TD	23y 1m	1943
Liam Cosgrave	TD	23y 2m	1943

Longest surviving cabinet members

Government	Members
Brugha (1919)	Richard Mulcahy (died 1971)
De Valera (1919–21)	Éamon de Valera (died 1975)
De Valera (1921–22)	Éamon de Valera (died 1975)
Griffith (1922)	Michael Hayes (died 1976)
Collins (1922)	Michael Hayes (died 1976)
Cosgrave (1922)	Ernest Blythe (died 1975)
Cosgrave (1922–23)	Ernest Blythe (died 1975)
Cosgrave (1923–27)	Patrick McGilligan (died 1979)
Cosgrave (1927)
Cosgrave (1927–30)
Cosgrave (1930–32)
De Valera (1932–33)	Seán MacEntee (died 1984)
De Valera (1933–37)
De Valera (1937)
De Valera (1937–38)
De Valera (1938–43)
De Valera (1943–44)
De Valera (1944–48)
Costello (1948–51)	Noël Browne (died 1997)
De Valera (1951–54)	Seán MacEntee (died 1984)
Costello (1954–57)	Liam Cosgrave
De Valera 1957–59)	Kevin Boland (died 2001)
Lemass (1959–61)	Patrick Hillery (died 2008)
Lemass (1961–66)
Lemass (1965–66)
Lynch (1966–69)	Pádraig Faulkner (died 2012)
Lynch (1969–73)	Gerry Collins, Patrick Lalor, Bobby Molloy, Michael O'Kennedy, Desmond O'Malley
Cosgrave (1973–77)	Peter Barry, Patrick Cooney, Liam Cosgrave, Tom O'Donnell, Richie Ryan
Lynch (1977–79)	Gerry Collins, Bobby Molloy, Martin O'Donoghue, Michael O'Kennedy, Desmond O'Malley
Haughey (1979–81)	Ray Burke, Gerry Collins, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, Ray MacSharry, Michael O'Kennedy, Desmond O'Malley, Michael Woods
FitzGerald (1981–82)	Peter Barry, John Bruton, Patrick Cooney, Alan Dukes, Liam Kavanagh, Paddy O'Toole

Longest surviving Dáil members

Dáil	Election	Members
1st Dáil	1918	Seán MacEntee (died 1984)
2nd Dáil	1921	Tom Maguire (died 1993)
3rd Dáil	1922
4th Dáil	1923
5th Dáil	1927 (June)	Seán MacEntee (died 1984)
6th Dáil	1927 (Sep)	Seán MacEntee (died 1984)
7th Dáil	1932	James Dillon (died 1986)
8th Dáil	1933	James McGuire (died 1989)
9th Dáil	1937	James Dillon (died 1986)
10th Dáil	1938	James Dillon (died 1986)
11th Dáil	1943	Liam Cosgrave
12th Dáil	1944	Liam Cosgrave
13th Dáil	1948	Liam Cosgrave, William J. Murphy
14th Dáil	1951	Liam Cosgrave
15th Dáil	1954	Patrick Byrne, Liam Cosgrave, Thomas Finlay, Kathleen O'Connor
16th Dáil	1957	Patrick Byrne, Liam Cosgrave, Brigid Hogan, Richie Ryan
17th Dáil	1961	Lorcan Allen, Joan Burke, Patrick Byrne, Liam Cosgrave, John Donnellan, Paddy Harte, Brigid Hogan-O'Higgins, Patrick Lalor, Tom O'Donnell, Séamus Pattison, Richie Ryan, Seán Treacy

Longest lived former office-holders

Aged 90 or more at time of death:

Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Age
Tom Maguire	28 March 1892	5 July 1993	101y 4m
Eddie Filgate	16 September 1915		100 years, 7 months
T. K. Whitaker	8 December 1916		99 years, 4 months
Seán Ó Ceallaigh	17 April 1896	15 June 1994	98y 1m
Domhnall Ua Buachalla	5 February 1866	30 October 1963	97y 8m
Philip Brady	10 June 1898	6 January 1995	96y 7m
George Noble Plunkett	3 December 1851	12 March 1948	96y 3m
Liam Cosgrave	13 April 1920		96 years
Séamus Dolan	10 December 1914	10 August 2010	95y 8m
Kathleen Clarke	11 April 1878	29 September 1972	94y 6m
Robert Barton	4 March 1881	10 August 1975	94y 5m
Joseph Farrell	1 July 1905	24 November 1999	94y 5m
Seán MacEntee	22 August 1889	10 January 1984	94y 5m
Joseph Dowling	2 February 1922		94 years, 3 months
Pádraig Faulkner	12 March 1918	1 June 2012	94y 2m
Jack Harte	10 December 1920	9 March 2015	94y 2m
Tony Herbert	1920	6 March 2014	94y+
Thomas Finlay	17 September 1922		93 years, 7 months
Richard Barry	4 September 1919	28 April 2013	93y 7m
Patrick Finucane	5 December 1890	10 April 1984	93y 4m
Thomas Tynan	1859	24 September 1953	93y 3m+
Peadar O'Donnell	22 February 1893	13 May 1986	93y 3m
Denis Cullen	23 September 1878	26 November 1971	93y 2m
Sam McAughtry	24 March 1921	28 March 2014	93y
Kit Ahern	13 January 1915	27 December 2007	92y 11m
Éamon de Valera	14 October 1882	29 August 1975	92y 10m
William Sheldon	18 January 1907	1 November 1999	92y 9m
Seán Treacy	23 September 1923		92 years, 7 months
Charles Fagan	1 October 1881	8 May 1974	92y 7m
Ted Russell	1 April 1912	28 November 2004	92y 7m
Patrick Shanahan	10 March 1908	1 February 2000	91y 11m
Donal Creed	7 September 1924		91 years, 8 months
Peter Sands	1 May 1924	17 October 2015	91y 5m
Hugh Gibbons	6 July 1916	13 November 2007	91y 4m
Conor Cruise O'Brien	3 November 1917	18 December 2008	91y 1m
Patrick Byrne	2 April 1925		91 years, 1 month
Bryan Cusack	2 August 1882	24 May 1973	90y 9m
Thomas Johnson	17 May 1872	17 January 1963	90y 8m
Patrick McGilligan	12 April 1889	15 November 1979	90y 7m

Shortest lived office-holders

Aged 40 or younger at time of death:

Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Age	Cause of death
Kieran Doherty	16 October 1955	2 August 1981	25y	Hunger strike
Liam Mellows	25 May 1895	8 December 1922	27y 6m	Execution during the Irish Civil War
Michael Collins	16 October 1890	22 August 1922	31y 10m	Shot during the Irish Civil War
Don Davern	4 March 1935	2 November 1968	33y 7m	Sudden illness
Michael Derham	1889	20 November 1923	34y 10m-	Sudden illness
Kevin O'Higgins	7 June 1892	10 July 1927	35y 1m	Assassinated by former Civil War opponents
Billy Fox	3 January 1939	12 March 1974	35y 2m	Assassinated during the Troubles
Harry Boland	27 April 1887	31 July 1922	35y 3m	Shot during the Irish Civil War
Frank Carney	25 April 1896	19 October 1932	36y 5m	Ill-health
Hugh Colohan	30 September 1894	15 April 1931	36y 6m
Pierce McCan	2 August 1882	6 March 1919	36y 7m	Influenza epidemic
Séamus Ryan	6 December 1895	30 June 1933	37y 6m	Sudden illness
Thomas A. Finlay	11 October 1893	22 November 1932	39y 1m	Typhoid fever
Alfred P. Byrne	1913	26 July 1952	39y 6m-
Sir Osmond Esmonde	4 April 1896	22 July 1936	40y 3m	Sudden illness
Clement Coughlan	14 August 1942	1 February 1983	40y 5m	Traffic accident
Séamus Dwyer	c.1882	20 December 1922	40y 11m-	Assassinated during the Irish Civil War
Joseph Hannigan	1904	1944	40y 11m-

Longest-serving cabinet ministers (in same office)

Name	Office	Years
Seán Lemass	Minister for Industry and Commerce	19 years, 2 months
Éamon de Valera	Minister for External Affairs	15 years, 11 months
Frank Aiken	Minister for External Affairs	15 years, 3 months
James Ryan	Minister for Agriculture	14 years, 10 months
Thomas Derrig	Minister for Education	14 years, 1 month
Gerald Boland	Minister for Justice	11 years, 4 months
Oscar Traynor	Minister for Defence	11 years, 4 months
Seán MacEntee	Minister for Finance	10 years, 5 months

People appointed to cabinet at the start of their first term as TD

Name	Date
Noël Browne	February 1948
Kevin Boland	March 1957
Martin O'Donoghue	July 1977
Alan Dukes	June 1981
Niamh Bhreathnach	January 1993
Katherine Zappone	May 2016

Oldest person currently in office

Politicians born before 1945:

Name	Office	Date of birth	Age as of 7 May 2016
Michael D. Higgins	President	18 April 1941	75 years
Michael Noonan	TD	21 May 1943	72 years, 11 months
Paul Coghlan	Senator	1 June 1944	72 years
David Norris	Senator	1 July 1944	71 years, 10 months
Seán Barrett	TD	9 August 1944	71 years, 8 months

Youngest person currently in office

Politicians born since 1976:

Name	Office	Date of birth	Age as of 7 May 2016
Kathryn Reilly	Senator	17 September 1988	27 years, 7 months
Simon Harris	TD	17 December 1986	29 years, 4 months
Helen McEntee	TD	June 1986	29 years, 10 months+
Eoghan Murphy	TD	April 1982	34 years+
Brendan Griffin	TD	March 1982	34 years, 1 month+
Robert Troy	TD	January 1982	34 years, 3 months+
James Heffernan	Senator	3 October 1979	36 years, 7 months
Lorraine Higgins	Senator	3 August 1979	36 years, 9 months
Leo Varadkar	TD	18 January 1979	37 years, 3 months
John Paul Phelan	TD	27 September 1978	37 years, 7 months
Martin Heydon	TD	9 August 1978	37 years, 8 months
Averil Power	Senator	26 July 1978	37 years, 9 months
Damien English	TD	21 February 1978	38 years, 2 months
Hildegarde Naughton	Senator	1977	38 years, 4 months+
Alan Farrell	TD	29 December 1977	38 years, 4 months
Charlie McConalogue	TD	October 1977	38 years, 6 months+
Brian Ó Domhnaill	Senator	18 October 1977	38 years, 6 months
Pearse Doherty	TD	6 July 1977	38 years, 10 months
Thomas Byrne	Senator	1 June 1977	38 years, 11 months
Patrick O'Donovan	TD	21 March 1977	39 years, 1 month
Michael McGrath	TD	23 August 1976	39 years, 8 months
Catherine Noone	Senator	24 June 1976	39 years, 10 months

Members of the current Government by age

Main article: Government of the 32nd Dáil

Name	Date of birth	Age as of 7 May 2016
Michael Noonan	21 May 1943	72 years, 11 months
Shane Ross	11 July 1949	66 years, 9 months
Frances Fitzgerald	1 August 1950	65 years, 9 months
Enda Kenny	24 April 1951	65 years
Richard Bruton	15 March 1953	63 years, 1 month
Katherine Zappone	25 November 1953	62 years, 5 months
Charles Flanagan	1 November 1956	59 years, 6 months
Mary Mitchell O'Connor	10 June 1959	56 years, 10 months
Michael Creed	29 June 1963	52 years, 10 months
Simon Coveney	16 June 1972	43 years, 10 months
Denis Naughten	23 June 1973	42 years, 10 months
Paschal Donohoe	19 September 1974	41 years, 7 months
Leo Varadkar	18 January 1979	37 years, 3 months
Simon Harris	17 October 1986	29 years, 6 months
Heather Humphreys	N/A	N/A

Longest service (cumulative)

Name	Office(s)	Years
Éamon de Valera	TD / President	55
Paddy Smith	TD	54
Frank Aiken	TD	50
James Ryan	TD / Senator	50
Neil Blaney	TD / MEP	47
Gerald Boland	TD / Senator	46

Married couple in the same Oireachtas

Married couple		Oireachtas
Michael O'Higgins	Brigid Hogan-O'Higgins	16th Dáil, 17th Dáil and 18th Dáil
Alexis FitzGerald, Jnr	Mary Flaherty	23rd Dáil
Joe McHugh	Olwyn Enright	30th Dáil
Paul Bradford	Lucinda Creighton	24th Seanad and 31st Dáil
Martin McAleese	Mary McAleese	24th Seanad and President of Ireland
David Cullinane	Kathleen Funchion	32nd Dáil

Members of both the British Parliament and of the Oireachtas

This list excludes abstentionist MPs, such as the members of the 1st Dáil.

Name	British Parliament	Oireachtas
Dermot Bourke, 7th Earl of Mayo	Peer 1890–1927	Senator 1922–27
P. J. Brady	MP 1910–18	Senator 1927–28
Alfie Byrne	MP 1915–18	TD 1922–28, 1932–56, Senator 1928–31
James Campbell, later Lord Glenavy	MP 1898–1900, 1903–17, Peer 1921–31	Senator 1922–28
Bryan Cooper	MP 1910	TD 1923–30
James Cosgrave	MP 1914–18	TD 1923–27
William Duffy	MP 1900–18	TD 1927
Sir John Esmonde	MP 1915–18	TD 1937–44
Sir Thomas Esmonde	MP 1885–1918	Senator 1922–34
Bernard Forbes, 8th Earl of Granard	Peer 1889–1948	Senator 1922–34
Laurence Ginnell	MP 1906–18	TD 1918–23
Benjamin Guinness, 3rd Earl of Iveagh	Peer 1967–92	Senator 1973–77
Edward Haughey, later Lord Ballyedmond	Peer 2004–14	Senator 1994–2002
Ralph Howard, 7th Earl of Wicklow	Peer 1905–46	Senator 1922–28
Hugh Law	MP 1902–18	TD 1927–32
Seamus Mallon	MP 1986–2005	Senator 1982
James O'Mara	MP 1900–07	TD 1918–21, 1924–27
Stephen O'Mara	MP 1886	Senator 1925–26
Earl of Kerry, later Marquess of Lansdowne	MP 1908–18, Peer 1927–36	Senator 1922–29
Horace Plunkett	MP 1892–1900	Senator 1922–25
William Redmond	MP 1910–22	TD 1923–32
Geoffrey Taylour, 4th Marquess of Headfort	Peer 1894–1943	Senator 1922–28
Windham Wyndham-Quin, 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl	Peer 1871–1926	Senator 1922–26

First-time records

Women

First female TD – Constance Markievicz, elected to the First Dáil in 1918
First female minister – Constance Markievicz who served as Minister for Labour in the First Dáil from 1919–22
First female Senators – Eileen Costello, Ellen Cuffe, Alice Stopford Green and Jennie Wyse Power, elected or nominated in 1922
First female Minister of State – Máire Geoghegan-Quinn became Minister of State for Industry and Energy in 1977
First female cabinet minister since independence – Máire Geoghegan-Quinn became Minister for the Gaeltacht in 1979
First female President of Ireland – Mary Robinson, who was elected in 1990 and served until 1997
First female Tánaiste – Mary Harney, appointed in 1997

Religion

First Jewish Senator – Ellen Cuffe, appointed to the Irish Free State Seanad Éireann as an independent member (1922–31)
First Jewish TD – Robert Briscoe, Fianna Fáil TD for Dublin South (1932–48) and Dublin South–West (1948–61)
First Muslim TD – Moosajee Bhamjee, Labour Party TD for Clare from 1992–97
First Quaker Senator – James G. Douglas, independent Senator from 1922–36 and 1938–57

LGBT people

First male Senator to publicly identify as gay – David Norris, independent Senator for University of Dublin since 1987.
First TDs to publicly identify as gay – John Lyons (Labour Party TD) and Dominic Hannigan (Labour Party TD), both elected in 2011.
First Senator to publicly identify as lesbian – Katherine Zappone, independent Senator from 2011–16.
First member of the Oireachtas to be in a recognised same-sex relationship – Katherine Zappone, who married Ann Louise Gilligan in British Columbia, Canada in 2003.
First serving member of the Oireachtas to come out – Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael TD), first elected in 2007, came out in 2012.
First serving Cabinet Minister to come out – Leo Varadkar (Fine Gael TD), first elected in 2007, became a Minister in 2011, came out in 2015. Pat Carey (Fianna Fáil) was elected in 1997, and served as a minister from 2010–11 but did not come out until 2015, after his retirement.
First TD to publicly identify as lesbian – Katherine Zappone, independent TD since February 2016.
First serving Cabinet Minister to publicly identify as lesbian — Katherine Zappone, independent Minister since May 2016.

Party leaders

Party leaders serving 10 years or more are:

Leader	Tenure		Period	Constituency
Éamon de Valera	42y	Sinn Féin	1917–26	Clare
Éamon de Valera	42y	Fianna Fáil	1926–59	Clare
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh	39y	Sinn Féin	1970–83	Longford–Westmeath
Ruairí Ó Brádaigh	39y	Republican Sinn Féin	1986–2009	Longford–Westmeath
Gerry Adams	33y	Sinn Féin	1983–	Belfast West / Louth
William Norton	28y	Labour Party	1932–60	Kildare
Tomás Mac Giolla	26y	Sinn Féin	1962–70	Dublin West
		Official Sinn Féin	1970–77
		Sinn Féin the Workers Party	1977–82
		Workers' Party	1982–88
Joseph Blowick	21y	Clann na Talmhan	1944–65	Mayo
W. T. Cosgrave	20y	Cumann na nGaedheal	1923–33	Carlow–Kilkenny
W. T. Cosgrave	20y	Fine Gael	1934–44	Carlow–Kilkenny
Seán MacBride	19y	Clann na Poblachta	1946–65	Dublin County
John Redmond	18y	Irish Parliamentary Party	1900–18	Waterford City
Brendan Corish	17y	Labour Party	1960–77	Wexford
Richard Mulcahy	15y	Fine Gael	1944–59^[3]^[4]	Tipperary
Dick Spring	15y	Labour Party	1982–97	Kerry North
Bertie Ahern	14y	Fianna Fáil	1994–2008	Dublin Central
Mary Harney	14y	Progressive Democrats	1993–2006, 2007–08	Dublin Mid–West
Jack Lynch	13y	Fianna Fáil	1966–79	Cork City
Charles Haughey	13y	Fianna Fáil	1979–92	Dublin North–Central
Margaret Buckley	13y	Sinn Féin	1937–50	None
Enda Kenny	13y	Fine Gael	2002–	Mayo
Liam Cosgrave	12y	Fine Gael	1965–77	Dún Laoghaire
John Bruton	11y	Fine Gael	1990–2001	Meath
Garret FitzGerald	10y	Fine Gael	1977–87	Dublin South–East

References

↑ The two Houses of the Oireachtas are: Dáil Éireann (lower) and Seanad Éireann (upper).
↑ "Dáil Éireann – Volume 1 – 21 January 1919, An Rolla". Dáil Éireann Parliamentary Debates (in Irish). Retrieved 14 September 2010.
↑ While Mulcahy was a member of the Seanad in 1944, Tom O'Higgins acted as parliamentary party leader.
↑ Between 1948 and 1959, John A. Costello served as parliamentary leader.

External links

Directory of Members - Houses of the Oireachtas - Tithe an Oireachtais

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, May 07, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.