Barry Cowen (born 28 August 1967) is an Irish

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...

politician who has been a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP) from

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

for the Midlands–North-West constituency since July 2024. He previously served as 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) representing Laois–Offaly from 2011 to 2016,

Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in honour of Philip II of Spain ...

from 2016 to 2020, and Laois–Offaly again from 2020 to 2024. He served as

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine The Minister for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and the Marine () is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and the Marine. The current Minister for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries a ...

from June to July 2020.

Early life

His father Bernard Cowen was a TD, Senator and Minister of State. His grandfather Christy Cowen was an Offaly County Councillor and a member of the Fianna Fáil National Executive. He is the brother of 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 ...

Brian Cowen Brian Bernard Cowen (born 10 January 1960) is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011. Cowen served as a TD for the constituency of Laois–Offaly from 1984 to 2011 and served in several ...

. He is married with four children and is a full-time politician.

Political career

He was a member of

Offaly County Council Offaly County Council () is the local authority of County Offaly, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and ...

for the

Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal (Ireland), Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midlands Reg ...

local electoral area from

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

to 2011. He was elected to the

31st Dáil The 31st Dáil was elected at the 2011 general election on 25 February 2011 and first met at midday on 9 March 2011 in Leinster House. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland, are k ...

at the 2011 general election for Laois–Offaly, succeeding his brother Brian. He has served in various Fianna Fáil Front Bench roles such as

Social Protection Social protection, as defined by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, is concerned with preventing, managing, and overcoming situations that adversely affect people's well-being. Social protection consists of policies and ...

from 2011 to 2012, spokesperson for Housing, Planning and Local Government from 2012 to 2018 and spokesperson for Public Expenditure and Reform from 2018 to 2020. He represented Fianna Fáil in talks on government formation in 2016 and 2020. In July 2020, it emerged that Cowen had a conviction for

drink driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is in ...

. Cowen was fined €200 and was disqualified from driving for three months. The incident occurred in September 2016, after an All-Ireland football final between

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and Mayo. Cowen apologised for his "serious lapse of judgement". The

Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission Garda may refer to: * Garda Síochána, the police and security service of Ireland * Garda National Surveillance Unit, the domestic intelligence agency of Ireland * GardaWorld, a security and protection company headquartered in Montreal, Canada * ...

was asked by the Gardaí to investigate the alleged leaking of information concerning Minister for Agriculture Barry Cowen's drink driving arrest. Cowen accused gardaí of criminality for leaking allegations that he attempted to evade a garda checkpoint before he was caught drink driving. Cowen admitted receiving a ban for drink drinking but denied attempting to evade gardaí. He issued a statement that the garda record was "incorrect" and suggested he would take legal action against the ''Sunday Times'', which first reported the story. Cowen said that the leaks were a flagrant breach of criminal law and “my rights under data protection law” and that they were an "attempt to cause me the maximum personal and political harm." Fianna Fáil TD Thomas Byrne has denied that it was he who leaked news of Cowen's ban to the press. Eamon Dooley, a long serving Fianna Fáil member of Offaly County Council, claimed that a party member with a "grudge" leaked it to the media. On 14 July 2020, after he refused to resign the role of Minister for Agriculture, Cowen was sacked by

Micheál Martin Micheál Martin (; born 16 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician serving as Taoiseach since January 2025, having previously held the position from 2020 to 2022. Martin served as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Min ...

, due to the controversy surrounding his conviction for drink driving. In November 2020, it was reported that a barrister was to be questioned by GSOC in relation to the leak. In 2021, GSOC searched a Garda station in Munster in relation to the leak. In July 2021, Cowen called on Fianna Fáil to form a new "modern centre-left" alliance with the Labour Party for the next election. In March 2023, political news website '' The Ditch'' reported that Cowen had failed to declare rental income from 32 acres of farmland, in breach of

Standards in Public Office Commission The Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) () is an independent body established in December 2001 by the Government of Ireland, Irish Government under the Standards in Public Office Act 2001. It replaced the Public Offices Commission which h ...

rules. Cowen subsequently confirmed that he intended to correct his declaration to the Dáil Register of Interests. In 2023 he opposed extending the eviction ban put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, comparing an extension to "making sweets free for children". These comments caused controversy and he subsequently apologised for the remarks. In 2024, Cowen won the Fianna Fáil nomination to stand in the

2024 European Parliament election The 2024 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 6 and 9 June 2024. It was the tenth Elections to the European Parliament, parliamentary election since the 1979 European Parliament election, first direct electio ...

in the Midlands–North-West constituency, defeating senators Niall Blaney and Lisa Chambers at the selection convention. Blaney and Chambers were both added to the Fianna Fáil election ticket later. Cowen was elected to the second of five seats in the constituency. He took office on 17 July 2024.

References

External links

Barry Cowen's page on the Fianna Fáil website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowen, Barry 1967 births Living people Alumni of the University of Galway Barry Fianna Fáil TDs Irish auctioneers Members of Offaly County Council Members of the 31st Dáil Members of the 32nd Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil People from Tullamore, County Offaly Politicians from County Offaly Ministers for agriculture of Ireland People from Clara, County Offaly MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 2024–2029 Fianna Fáil MEPs Fianna Fáil local councillors People educated at Cistercian College, Roscrea

Early life

Political career

See also

References

External links