- Hugh Coveney
Hugh P. Coveney (20 July 1935 – 15 March 1998) was a senior Irish
Fine Gael politician, and a noted yachtsman.Hugh Coveney was born into one of Cork's prosperous "merchant prince" families in 1935. He was educated at
Christian Brothers College, Cork ,Clongowes Wood and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. He worked as a chartered quantity surveyor before entering politics.Political career
Coveney was
Lord Mayor of Cork from 1982 to 1983. He was first elected toDáil Éireann in 1981 as aFine Gael TD forCork South Central . He lost his seat in the first general election of 1982 but regained it in the second election in the same year. He lost his seat again in 1987 and didn't contest the 1992 election. He was elected to theDáil again in 1994 in a by-election.He was first appointed to the Cabinet in 1994 under
John Bruton . Coveney was appointed Minister for Defence & Minister for the Marine. However, he was demoted to a junior ministry the following year after allegations of improper contact with businessmen.He died on 14 March 1998, after falling from a seaside cliff while out walking alone. His son,
Simon Coveney , was elected to succeed him as TD in the resulting by-election.Yachting
Coveney's yacht "Golden Apple of The Sun" (designed by Cork-based designer
Ron Holland ) was a successful competitor in theAdmiral's Cup in the 1970s.A later convert|50|ft|m|sing=on yacht "Golden Apple" was used by the family for the "Sail Chernobyl" project. The family sailed around the world to raise €650,000 for the Chernobyl Children's Project, a charity which offers assistance to children affected by the 1986 accident at the nuclear reactor in
Chernobyl ,Ukraine .References
ee also
*
Families in the Oireachtas External links
* [http://www.chernobyl-international.com Chernobyl Children's Project]
* [http://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?id=3292 Hugh Coveney's electoral history] (ElectionsIreland.org)Navboxes
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