Martin O'Donoghue
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Martin O'Donoghue BComm, PhD, FTCD(1969), (born 1933), is an Irish economist. He also served as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) and holds the distinction of being one of only five TDs to be appointed Minister on their first day in the Dáil. He is a Fellow Emeritus of Trinity College Dublin and serves with Tony O'Reilly's O'Reilly Foundation.
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[edit] Life
Martin O'Donoghue was born in Dublin in May 1933. He was educated in Crumlin and worked as a waiter in Dublin, becoming a mature student in University of Dublin and later obtaining a doctorate in philosophy, with economics as his discipline, from that university.
[edit] Career
From 1962-1964 and from 1967-1969 he was economic consultant at the Departments of Education and Finance respectively. From 1970-1973 O'Donoghue was economic adviser to the Taoiseach, Jack Lynch.
[edit] Politics
At the 1977 general election O'Donoghue was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil TD for the Dún Laoghaire constituency. He was the architect of the election manifesto which saw Fianna Fáil achieve an unprecedented twenty seat majority. O'Donoghue was immediately appointed Minister for Economic Planning and Development. In 1979, Charles Haughey became Taoiseach and O'Donoghue's ministerial position was abolished. In 1982 O'Donoghue was returned to Cabinet as Minister for Education. He resigned in October 1982, when he refused to support Haughey in a leadership challenge and in November 1982 lost his Dáil seat in the general election.
O'Donogue entered Seanad Éireann after loss of his Dáil seat. Allegedly when a senior Fianna Fáil member was asked why Martin O'Donoghue wasn't expelled from the party, given what O'Donoghue was saying about Fianna Fáil and its leadership, he replied[citation needed] "he's not worth expelling". He remained in Seanad Éireann until 1987 when he drifted out of Fianna Fáil to support the Progressive Democrats.
[edit] Later career
In 1998 O'Donoghue became a director of the Irish Central Bank, serving with this and its successor body until the end of April 2008.
He is currently a Fellow Emeritus of Trinity College Dublin, having retired from his career as a Lecturer and Associate Professor of Economics there. He is also a member of the Scholarship Board of Tony O'Reilly's O'Reilly Foundation.
[edit] References
- This page incorporates information from the Oireachtas Members Database
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Minister without portfolio 5 July 1977–8 July 1977 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by Newly Created Office |
Minister for Economic Planning & Development 1977–1979 |
Succeeded by Michael O'Kennedy |
| Preceded by John Boland |
Minister for Education Mar. 1982–Oct. 1982 |
Succeeded by Charles Haughey (acting) |
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