Ireland
In the Republic of Ireland, the term Father of the Dáil is an unofficial title applied to the longest-serving Teachta Dála (TD) in the house, regardless of their position. The current Father is the Taoiseach and Fine Gael party leader, Enda Kenny, TD, since the retirement of Séamus Pattison at the 2007 general election. On a number of occasions two or more people have shared the position of Father of the Dáil.
| Name | Entered Dáil | Became Father | Left Dáil | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Fahy | 1918 election | 4 February 1948 | 14 July 1953 | Fianna Fáil | |
| Éamon de Valera | 23 June 1959 | Fianna Fáil | |||
| Gerald Boland | 1923 election | 23 June 1959 | 4 October 1961 | Fianna Fáil | |
| James Ryan | 7 April 1965 | Fianna Fáil | |||
| Patrick McGilligan | 7 April 1965 | Fine Gael | |||
| James Everett | 18 December 1967 | Labour Party | |||
| Thomas McEllistrim | 18 June 1969 | Fianna Fáil | |||
| Frank Aiken | 28 February 1973 | Fianna Fáil | |||
| Paddy Smith | 5 July 1977 | Fianna Fáil | |||
| Liam Cosgrave | 1943 election | 5 July 1977 | 11 June 1981 | Fine Gael | |
| Dan Spring | 11 June 1981 | Labour Party | |||
| Oliver J. Flanagan | 17 February 1987 | Fine Gael | |||
| Neil Blaney | Dec. 1948 by-election | 17 February 1987 | 8 November 1995 | Independent Fianna Fáil | |
| Paddy Harte | 1961 election | 8 November 1995 | 6 June 1997 | Fine Gael | |
| Seán Treacy | 6 June 1997 | Labour Party | |||
| Séamus Pattison | 14 June 2007 | Labour Party | |||
| Enda Kenny | Nov. 1975 by-election | 14 June 2007 | Incumbent | Fine Gael | |
Read more about this topic: Father Of The House
Famous quotes containing the word ireland:
“No people can more exactly interpret the inmost meaning of the present situation in Ireland than the American Negro. The scheme is simple. You knock a man down and then have him arrested for assault. You kill a man and then hang the corpse.”
—W.E.B. (William Edward Burghardt)
“The tragedy of Northern Ireland is that it is now a society in which the dead console the living.”
—Jack Holland (b. 1947)
“Come, fix upon me that accusing eye.
I thirst for accusation. All that was sung.
All that was said in Ireland is a lie
Breed out of the contagion of the throng,
Saving the rhyme rats hear before they die.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)