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 | Party | Elected |
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 (1932–1948,1951–1954,1957–1969) | |
| Neil Blaney | Fianna Fáil/ Independent Fianna Fáil | 1948 | Died on 8 October 1995 | 46y 10m | 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| Noel Davern | Fianna Fáil | 1969 | 2007 | 32y 4m | Did not serve 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 | |
Read more about this topic: Records Of Members Of The Oireachtas