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Patrick Mark Cooney (born 2 March 1931) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as a government minister in the cabinets of Liam Cosgrave (1973–1977) and Garret FitzGerald (1981–1982 and 1982–1987). He served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Leinster constituency from 1989 to 1994. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Longford–Westmeath constituency from 1970 to 1977 and between 1981 and 1989. He also served as a Senator for the Cultural and Educational Panel from 1977 to 1981.[1]
Patrick Cooney | |
|---|---|
| Minister for Education | |
| In office 14 February 1986 – 10 March 1987 | |
| Taoiseach | Garret FitzGerald |
| Preceded by | Gemma Hussey |
| Succeeded by | Mary O'Rourke |
| Minister for Defence | |
| In office 14 December 1982 – 14 February 1986 | |
| Taoiseach | Garret FitzGerald |
| Preceded by | Paddy Power |
| Succeeded by | Paddy O'Toole |
| Minister for Transport | |
| In office 30 June 1981 – 9 March 1982 | |
| Taoiseach | Garret FitzGerald |
| Preceded by | Albert Reynolds |
| Succeeded by | John Wilson |
| Minister for Posts and Telegraphs | |
| In office 30 June 1981 – 9 March 1982 | |
| Taoiseach | Garret FitzGerald |
| Preceded by | Albert Reynolds |
| Succeeded by | John Wilson |
| Minister for Justice | |
| In office 14 March 1973 – 5 July 1977 | |
| Taoiseach | Liam Cosgrave |
| Preceded by | Desmond O'Malley |
| Succeeded by | Gerry Collins |
| Member of the European Parliament | |
| In office 1 July 1989 – 24 May 1994 | |
| Constituency | Leinster |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office June 1981 – June 1989 | |
| In office April 1970 – June 1977 | |
| Constituency | Longford–Westmeath |
| Senator | |
| In office 27 October 1977 – 11 June 1981 | |
| Constituency | Cultural and Educational Panel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 March 1931 Dublin, Ireland |
| Political party | Fine Gael |
| Spouse |
Brigid McMenamin (m. 1958) |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Castleknock College |
| Alma mater | University College Dublin |
Cooney was born in 1931 and was educated at Castleknock College and University College Dublin, where he completed a BA in 1951 and an LLB (Bachelor of Laws) in 1953.[2] He first stood as a candidate for Dáil Éireann in the Longford–Westmeath constituency at the 1961 general election but failed to win a seat, and he was defeated again in 1965 and 1969. However, after the death of the Fianna Fáil TD Patrick Lenihan, Cooney was elected to the 19th Dáil in the Longford–Westmeath by-election in April 1970.[3]
After the 1973 general election, a Fine Gael–Labour Party National Coalition government to office, and Cooney was appointed to Liam Cosgrave's cabinet as Minister for Justice. He ordered the coffin of Frank Stagg, an IRA volunteer, to be covered in concrete.[4] In December 1973, the Supreme Court found in McGee v. The Attorney General that marital privacy was protected by the Constitution of Ireland, including a right to contraception. Cooney proposed the Control of Importation, Sale and Manufacture of Contraceptives Bill 1974, which was defeated in the Dáil on a free vote, with Cosgrave voting against the legislation proposed by a member of his cabinet.[5]
Cooney was one of several cabinet ministers to lose his seat at the 1977 general election but was subsequently elected to the 14th Seanad as a Senator for the Cultural and Educational Panel. In 1979, at the first direct elections to the European Parliament, he stood unsuccessfully in the Connacht–Ulster constituency.
At the 1981 general election, he was returned to the Dáil again for his old Longford–Westmeath constituency. Under Garret FitzGerald, Cooney served as Minister for Transport and Minister for Posts and Telegraphs from June 1981 to March 1982, as Minister for Defence from December 1982 to February 1986, and as Minister for Education from 1986 to 1987.
He was elected as a MEP for the Leinster constituency at the 1989 European Parliament elections and did not contest the 1989 general election. He did not stand for re-election in 1994.
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