Denis Foley (14 May 1934 – 26 October 2013) was 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 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) for the Kerry North constituency from 1981 to 1989 and 1992 to 2002 and a

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

for the

Industrial and Commercial Panel Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominat ...

from 1989 to 1992.

Biography

A former rates collector, in the 1970s, Foley successfully ran The Central Ballroom in

Ballybunion Ballybunion or Ballybunnion () is a coastal town and seaside resort in County Kerry, Ireland, on the Wild Atlantic Way, from the town of Listowel. As of the 2022 census, Ballybunion had a population of 1,618. Name The Placenames Database of I ...

and the ballroom of The Brandon Hotel. He also had an interest in The Hillgrove Hotel in

Dingle Dingle ( or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula (known in Irish as ''Corca Dhuibhne''), it sits on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coa ...

at one stage, and had extensive property holdings in

Tralee Tralee ( ; , ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the River Lee') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in ...

. Foley was a member of

Kerry County Council Kerry County Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of County Kerry, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roa ...

from 1979, and was elected 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 1981 general election. He retained his seat through three general elections until his defeat at the 1989 general election by party rival Tom McEllistrim (who, unlike Foley, was a supporter of the then leader of Fianna Fáil,

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who led four governments as Taoiseach: December 1979 to June 1981, March to December 1982, March 1987 to June 1989, and June 1989 to February 1992 ...

). He was then elected to the

19th Seanad The 19th Seanad was in office from 1989 to 1993. An election to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), followed the 1989 general election to the 26th Dáil. The senators served until the close of poll for the 20th Sea ...

as a Senator for the

, and regained his Dáil seat at the 1992 general election, holding it until he retired at the 2002 general election. His daughter,

Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) ** Norma Lizbeth Ramos, a Mexican bullying victim Astronomy *Norma (constellation) * 555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral ...

, unsuccessfully sought the Fianna Fáil nomination to contest the seat in 2002; she was selected for the 2007 general election, but did not win a seat. She stayed in local politics, but won a seat in the Dáil at the 2020 general election for the Kerry constituency. Following revelations that he had held an

offshore account An offshore bank is a bank that is operated and regulated under international banking license (often called offshore license), which usually prohibits the bank from establishing any business activities in the jurisdiction of establishment. Due to ...

with Ansbacher Bank to avoid tax, Denis Foley resigned from Fianna Fáil on 9 February 2000, becoming an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

TD. He had previously resigned from the Dáil

Public Accounts Committee A public accounts committee (PAC) is a committee within a legislature whose role is to study public audits, invite ministers, permanent secretaries or other ministry officials to the committee for questioning, and report on their findings subseque ...

(on which he had been involved in the questioning of an official of the Ansbacher bank in which he held an undeclared deposit) and in May 2000, he became the first TD to receive a penalty for breaching the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995; he was suspended from the Dáil for 14 days. He died on 26 October 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foley, Denis 1934 births 2013 deaths Fianna Fáil senators Fianna Fáil TDs Independent TDs Irish hoteliers Members of Kerry County Council Members of the 22nd Dáil Members of the 23rd Dáil Members of the 24th Dáil Members of the 25th Dáil Members of the 19th Seanad Members of the 27th Dáil Members of the 28th Dáil Tax collectors Politicians from County Kerry Industrial and Commercial Panel senators

Biography

See also

References