Daniel Desmond (3 October 1913 – 9 December 1964) was an Irish Labour Party politician and

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 seventeen years.

Early life

Desmond was born on 3 October 1913 in

Crosshaven Crosshaven () is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It is in lower Cork Harbour at the mouth of the River Owenabue, across from Currabinny Wood, 15 km south-east of the centre of Cork city. Originally a fishing village, from the 19th centu ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, the second child of two sons and four daughters of Michael Desmond, carpenter, and his wife, Hanora White, both from County Cork. He was educated at the local national school and the Municipal College of Commerce, Cork. According to historian John Horgan, he was Cork based trade unionist, and was a founder member of

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 ...

but broke from the party when they introduced the Wages Standstill Order in 1939. He later joined the Labour Party. However, according to the ''

Dictionary of Irish Biography The ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'' (DIB) is a biographical dictionary of notable Irish people and people not born in the country who had notable careers in Ireland, including both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. History The ...

'', while still at school he joined the local branch of the Labour Party and became its secretary at the age of 16. A builder's clerk, he became secretary of the Federation of Rural Workers in 1947 and was organiser at county level.

Political career

Desmond first stood for election to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

at the 1944 general election in the Cork South-East constituency, where he was defeated, winning 5.4% of the first-preference votes. However, he was successful on his next time as a candidate: at the 1948 general election he was the first candidate to be elected in the new 3-seat Cork South constituency. He took his seat in the

13th Dáil The 13th Dáil was elected at the 1948 general election on 4 February 1948 and first met on 18 February 1948. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature), of Ireland are known as TDs. It sat with ...

, and was re-elected at the 1951 general election and again in the

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

and

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

general elections, topping the poll again in 1951 and 1954. After further boundary changes, he was returned at the 1961 general election for the new 4-seat Cork Mid constituency. He was the Labour Party's chief spokesman on local government, and also had strong views on social issues in parliament, in particular housing, health and education. He was principally responsible for the passing of the ''Local Government (Superannuation) Act 1956'', providing a pension scheme for road workers. His abiding interest was the welfare of rural workers and the rural community generally. He was parliamentary leader of his party during the

Second Inter-Party Government The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

(1954–1957) and he later became deputy leader. A member of

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

from 1945 until his death, he served on many committees such as the vocational educational committee, Cork housing and sanitary services, Cork health authority (health board) and the assistance board. Despite ill health, he participated strongly and at great length in important Dáil debates, and continued his constituency duties.

Family

He married Eileen Harrington, a civil servant, in 1956, and they had two daughters. Desmond died from a cardiac infarction caused by

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

on 9 December 1964 at St Stephen's Hospital, Cork. The by-election for his seat in the

17th Dáil The 17th Dáil was elected at the 1961 general election on 4 October 1961 and met on 11 October 1961. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland, are known as TDs. It sat with the 10 ...

was won on 10 March 1965 by his widow

Eileen Desmond Eileen Christine Desmond (; 29 December 1932 – 6 January 2005) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Health and Minister for Social Welfare from 1981 to 1982. She was a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1965 to 1969 and 1973 ...

, who sat in the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...

for 22 years. His daughter, Paula Desmond, was a member of Cork County Council from 1985 to 2014. In 1996, as chairperson of Cork County Council, she opened a newly constructed bridge at

Belgooly Belgooly ( is a village in County Cork, Ireland, located 4.6 kilometres to the north-east of Kinsale. In 2022 it had a population of 823. History The Belgooly Flour Mill, a ruinous building within the village, is entered in the initial Record o ...

, County Cork, named after her father. Two housing estates in

Carrigaline Carrigaline (; ) is a town and civil parish in County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, situated on the River Owenabue. Located about south of Cork (city), Cork city, and with a population of 18,239 people, it is one of the largest commuter ...

and

Passage West Passage West (locally known as "Passage"; ) is a port town in County Cork, Ireland, situated on the west bank of Cork Harbour, some 10 km south-east of Cork (city), Cork city. Passage West was designated a conservation area in the 2003 Co ...

were also named in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Desmond, Dan 1913 births 1964 deaths Labour Party (Ireland) TDs Members of the 13th Dáil Members of the 14th Dáil Members of the 15th Dáil Members of the 16th Dáil Members of the 17th Dáil Politicians from County Cork Spouses of Irish politicians People from Crosshaven