Rory O'Hanlon

Infobox Officeholder
name =Rory O'Hanlon
honorific-suffix =

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imagesize =200px
order =Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann
term_start =2002
term_end = 2007
predecessor =Séamus Pattison
successor =John O'Donoghue
birth_date =Birth date and age|1934|3|7|df=yes
birth_place =Dublin, Ireland
constituency= Cavan-Monaghan
party= Fianna Fáil

Rory O'Hanlon ( _ga. Ruairí Ó hAnnlúain; born 7 February 1934) is a senior Fianna Fail politician, TD for Cavan Monaghan, and a former Ceann Comhairle (Speaker) of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Irish Parliament) and Government Minister.

Rory O'Hanlon was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1934. Born into a family that was deeply associated with the republican tradition, his father being a member of the Fourth Northern Division of the Irish Republican Army during the War of Independence. O'Hanlon was educated at Mullaghbawn National School, County Armagh, St. Mary's College, Dundalk, Blackrock College, Dublin and University College Dublin where he obtained a degree in medicine. O'Hanlon entered his first electoral contest in 1973 when he contested a by-election caused by the election of Erskine Childers to the Presidency. O'Hanlon was unsuccessful on this occasion but was eventually elected at the 1977 general election for the Cavan-Monaghan constituency. Two years later he became a member of Monaghan County Council, serving on that authority until 1987.

In 1979 O'Hanlon supported George Colley in the Fianna Fáil leadership election, however, Charles Haughey emerged as the victor. O'Hanlon remained on the backbenches for several years, until he was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Health & Social Welfare for a very short period in 1982. In early 1983 Fianna Fáil was out of power and O'Hanlon was appointed party spokesperson on Health, becoming Minister for Health when the party returned to power in 1987. While the party campaigned on a platform of not introducing any cuts the party committed a complete volte-face in government. The savage cuts in relation to healthcare earned O'Hanlon the unpleasant nickname "Dr. Death". In 1991 he became Minister for the Environment following Albert Reynolds' failed leadership challenge against Haughey.

When Reynolds eventually came to power in 1992 O'Hanlon was just one of several high-profile members of the cabinet who lost their ministerial positions. In 1994 he became chairman of the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary party before being elected Leas-Cheann Comhairle (Deputy Speaker) of Dáil Éireann in 1997. Following the 2002 general election O'Hanlon became Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann. In this position he was required to remain neutral and, as such, he was no longer classed as a representative of any political party. He was an active chairman of the Dáil; however, on occasion he was criticised, most notably by Labour's Pat Rabbitte, for allegedly stifling debate and being overly protective of the government. Following the 2007 general election, he was succeeded as Ceann Comhairle by John O'Donoghue.

Two of O'Hanlon's children have served as local politicians in County Monaghan, while the Sinn Féin Teachta Dála, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, is also a relation of O'Hanlon. O'Hanlon is also the father of the well-known comedian Ardal O'Hanlon.

External links

* [http://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=3090 Rory O'Hanlon's electoral history] (ElectionsIreland.org)

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