Alan Dillon (born 28 September 1982) is an Irish

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...

politician who has served as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment and Minister of State at the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment since January 2025. He has been a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) for the Mayo constituency since the 2020 general election. Prior to entering politics, he was a two-time All Star winning

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

er who captained the senior Mayo county team.

Personal life

He is married to Ashling Dillon, and they have two sons. Dillon attended Davitt College in Castlebar for his secondary school education. He studied at

NUI Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

, and played for the university football team. Dillon has a MSc in Pharmaceutical Science from the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education from

, and a BSc in Applied Mathematics and Biology from

Maynooth University Maynooth University (MU) (), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. Maynooth University was formerly known as National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ). It was Ireland ...

. Dillon has also participated in a marketing campaign for Ireland West Airport.

Gaelic football career

Dillon played football with his local club Ballintubber in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

and was a pivotal member of the senior Mayo county team from 2003 until his retirement in 2017, playing in six All-Ireland finals. His fine-tuned skill, his sharp roving eye and his clever reading of the game all contribute to his exceptional footballing abilities. Dillon won his first All Star award in 2006 and a second All Star award in 2012. On 28 November 2017, Dillon announced his retirement from inter-county football.

Political career

Following his retirement from inter-county football in 2017, there was much speculation that Dillon would succeed former

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 201 ...

as a

candidate for Mayo. He has numerous links to Fine Gael, an aunt having been Enda Kenny's Castlebar secretary and her husband being Kenny's driver and a county councillor. He successfully stood as a Fine Gael candidate at the 2020 general election in the Mayo constituency. In July 2020, Dillon was elected as the secretary of the Fine Gael parliamentary party, following its AGM in the Convention Centre Dublin. In October 2023, Dillon succeeded

Richard Bruton Richard Bruton (born 15 March 1953) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin Bay North from 2016 to 2024, and previously from 1982 to 2016 for the Dublin North-Central constituency. He was the Cha ...

as the chair of the Fine Gael parliamentary party. He served as chair until April 2024, when he was succeeded by Alan Farrell. On 10 April 2024, Dillon was appointed as

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage The Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage of the Government of Ireland who may perform functions delegated by the M ...

following the appointment of

Simon Harris Simon Harris (born 17 October 1986) is an Irish Fine Gael politician serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister for Defence since January 2025, having previously served as Taoiseach from 2024 to 2025. He has ...

as Taoiseach. At the 2024 general election, Dillon was re-elected to the Dáil. On 29 January 2025, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment with special responsibility for small businesses and retail and as Minister of State at the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment with special responsibility for the circular economy.

References

External links

*
Alan Dillon's page on Fine Gael website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dillon, Alan 1982 births Living people Alumni of the University of Galway Alumni of Maynooth University Alumni of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Ballintubber Gaelic footballers Fine Gael TDs Gaelic football forwards Irish sportsperson-politicians Mayo inter-county Gaelic footballers Members of the 33rd Dáil University of Galway Gaelic footballers People from Castlebar Politicians from County Mayo Ministers of State of the 33rd Dáil Members of the 34th Dáil Ministers of State of the 34th Dáil