Brendan Corish
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Brendan Corish
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| In office 14 March 1973 – 5 July 1977 |
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| Preceded by | Erskine H. Childers |
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| Succeeded by | George Colley |
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| In office 14 March 1973 – 5 July 1977 |
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| Preceded by | Pádraig Faulkner |
| Succeeded by | Charles Haughey |
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| In office 14 March 1973 – 5 July 1977 |
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| Preceded by | Joseph Brennan |
| Succeeded by | Charles Haughey |
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| Born | 19 November 1918 Wexford, Ireland |
| Died | 17 February 1990 (aged 71) Wexford, Ireland |
| Political party | Labour Party |
Brendan Corish (Irish: Breandán Mac Fheorais; 19 November 1918 – 17 February 1990) was an Irish Labour Party politician, and leader of his party from 1960 to 1977. He was Tánaiste of Ireland from 1973 to 1977.
Brendan Corish was born in Wexford in 1918. He was educated locally at the Christian Brothers school in the town and, in his youth, he was a member of the 1st Wexford Scout troop (Scouting Ireland (CSI)). He joined the clerical staff of Wexford County Council at a young age. He was elected to the 12th Dáil for the Wexford constituency in a by-election on 4 December 1945 caused by the death of his father, Richard Corish[1]. He was returned to the 13th Dáil in the 1948 general election, and was returned at every subsequent general election until his retirement in 1982.
With the election of the First Inter-Party Government in the 1948 general election, Corish was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministers for Local Government and Defence, serving until the defeat of the government in the 1951 general election. When the Second Inter-party Government was formed after the 1954 general election, Corish was appointed Minister for Social Welfare[2].
In 1960 Corish succeeded William Norton as Labour Party leader[1]. He introduced new policies which made the party more socialist in outlook. However, the party moved carefully because 'socialism' was still considered a dirty word in 1960s Ireland. Corish claimed that Ireland would be 'Socialist in the Seventies'. To a certain extent he was right because Fine Gael and the Labour Party formed a coalition government between 1973 and 1977[1]. Corish became Tánaiste[1] and Minister for Health and Social Welfare.
In 1977, the Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave called a general election, and Fianna Fáil was returned to power in a landslide victory. Corish resigned as leader of the Labour Party, having signalled his intent to do so before the election[1]. He was succeeded as party leader by Frank Cluskey[1]. Corish retired from politics completely at the February 1982 general election.
Brendan Corish died on 17 February 1990 in County Wexford at the age of 71.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f O'Leary, Cornelius (1979). Irish elections 1918-1977: parties, voters and proportional representation. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. ISBN 7171-0898-8.
- ^ Lyons, F.S.L. (1973). Ireland since the famine. Suffolk: Collins / Fontana. pp. 880. ISBN 0-00-633200-5.
- This page incorporates information from this member's entry in the Oireachtas Members Database
