Terry Leyden (born 1 October 1945) is an Irish former

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...

politician who served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

(elected on the Labour Panel) from September 2002 to March 2020, and previously during December 1992 (after being nominated by the Taoiseach). He served as a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parl ...

(TD) from 1977 to 1992, and as a

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. I ...

from March to December 1982, and from 1987 to 1992. He was elected to

Roscommon County Council Roscommon County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Ros Comáin) is the authority responsible for local government in County Roscommon, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for ho ...

in 1974, and re-elected in 1979 and 1985. Leyden was elected to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland rea ...

at his first attempt, in the 1977 general election, when he was returned to the

21st Dáil First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

as a TD for the Roscommon–Leitrim constituency. He was returned for the new

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who buil ...

constituency at the 1981 general election, and re-elected a further four times before losing his seat at the 1992 general election in the new Longford–Roscommon constituency. From March to December 1982, he served as Minister of State at the Department of Transport and

Minister of State at the Department of Posts and Telegraphs The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs ( ga, Aire Poist agus Telegrafa) was the holder of a position in the Government of Ireland (and, earlier, in the Executive Council of the Irish Free State). From 1924 until 1984 – when it was abolished � ...

. He then served as Minister of State at the Department of Health from 1987 to 1989, and as Minister of State at the Department of Industry and Commerce from 1989 to 1992. Following his Dáil defeat he sat very briefly in the

19th Seanad This is a list of the members of the 19th Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland. These Senators were elected or appointed in 1989, after the 1989 general election and served until the close of poll fo ...

, having been nominated by the Taoiseach

Albert Reynolds Albert Martin Reynolds (3 November 1932 – 21 August 2014) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1992 to 1994, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1992 to 1994, Minister for Finance from 1988 to 1991, Minister for Indust ...

on 2 December 1992. After the 19th Seanad last sat on 17 December 1992 he stood unsuccessfully in the 1993 election to

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...

on the Administrative Panel, and was unsuccessful again in 1997 when seeking election on the

Industrial and Commercial Panel The Industrial and Commercial Panel ( ga, An Rolla Tionscail Agus Tráchtála) is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Ind ...

. Leyden was re-elected to Roscommon County Council in 1999, a position that he held until the ending of the

dual mandate A dual mandate is the practice in which elected officials serve in more than one elected or other public position simultaneously. This practice is sometimes known as double jobbing in Britain and ''cumul des mandats'' in France; not to be confused ...

in 2003 – because by that time he was also a Senator – when his seat was taken by his daughter Orla Leyden. Leyden was also a member of the Western Health Board from 1992 to 2002, and was Chairman from 2001 to 2002. He was elected to the 22nd Seanad on the Labour Panel in September 2002 and re-elected in 2007, 2011 and 2016. He was the Fianna Fáil Seanad spokesperson on Children and European Affairs. In May 2010, he invoked

Parliamentary privilege Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties ...

and accused ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' columnist Fintan O'Toole of incitement to riot, which O'Toole denied. This came about as a result of the latter's addressing of a demonstration against the bank bailouts proposed by the Government, which later turned violent. In July 2013, he claimed that

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

and

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...

were "good Christians" while speaking in the Seanad. On realising the absurd nature of his comments, he apologised to the chair and admitted he was distracted. He was a member of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland by virtue of inclusion on the "Minister's List". Prior to his inclusion on the RIAI register he was a member of the Irish Architects Society, the majority of whose members did not have formal qualifications for entry on the architect's register. He was the Fianna Fáil Seanad spokesperson on Communications, Climate Change and Natural Resources. He retired from politics at the 2020 Seanad election.

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leyden, Terry 1945 births Living people Alumni of the University of Galway Fianna Fáil TDs Local councillors in County Roscommon Members of the 21st Dáil Members of the 22nd Dáil Members of the 23rd Dáil Members of the 24th Dáil Members of the 25th Dáil Members of the 26th Dáil Members of the 19th Seanad Members of the 22nd Seanad Members of the 23rd Seanad Members of the 24th Seanad Members of the 25th Seanad Ministers of State of the 23rd Dáil Ministers of State of the 25th Dáil Ministers of State of the 26th Dáil Nominated members of Seanad Éireann Fianna Fáil senators