Fergus O'Dowd (born 1 September 1948) is an Irish former

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 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

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia ** Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

constituency from 2002 to 2024. He was appointed Chair of the Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement in September 2020. He previously served as Chair of the Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport from 2017 to 2020 and as a

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

from 2011 to 2014.Government economic stimulus plan

Early life

O'Dowd was born in

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles. The cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Arch ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

, in 1948. He was educated by the Christian Brothers in

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...

Political career

He was first elected to Drogheda Borough Council in 1974 as a member of the Labour Party, and was elected to

Louth County Council Louth County Council () is the local authority of County Louth, 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 an ...

in 1979, serving on the county council until 2003. He contested the 1977 general election as a Labour Party candidate, but was not elected. In 1982, O'Dowd left the Labour Party and joined Fine Gael. He served three terms as Mayor of Drogheda: 1977–1978, 1981–1982 and 1994–1995. A teacher before entering politics, O'Dowd was elected to

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann ( ; ; "Senate of Ireland") is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives). It is commonly called the Seanad or ...

for the

Administrative Panel The Administrative Panel is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Republic of Ireland, Ireland). The Administrative Panel elects seven senator ...

in 1997. He was first 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 2002 general election. He was immediately appointed Fine Gael spokesperson for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and resigned his Council seat in 2003 in accordance with the Dual Mandate. He served as party spokesperson on Environment, Heritage and Local Government from 2004 to 2007, and on Transport and Marine from 2007 to 2010. In June 2010, he supported

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 ...

's leadership challenge to

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 ...

. Following Kenny's victory in a motion of confidence, O'Dowd was appointed as party spokesperson on Education and Skills. On 10 March 2011, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government and at the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources with special responsibility for the NewEra Project. He was dropped as a Minister of State in a reshuffle in July 2014. On 27 November 2023, O'Dowd announced that he would not contest the next general election.

Personal life

O'Dowd lives in Drogheda and is married to Agnes O'Dowd; they have three sons. He is a brother of

Niall O'Dowd Niall O'Dowd (born 18 May 1953) is an Irish-born American journalist and author. He was involved in the negotiations leading to the Northern Irish Good Friday Peace Agreement. He is the founder of ''Irish Voice'' newspaper and ''Irish Ameri ...

, publisher of the ''

Irish Voice The ''Irish Voice'' is a newspaper published in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest nat ...

'' newspaper in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Another brother, Michael O'Dowd, stood against him for

Renua The Centre Party of Ireland, formerly Renua, is a fringe political party in Ireland. The party was launched on 13 March 2015, with former Fine Gael TD Lucinda Creighton as founding leader. Prior to its launch it had used the slogan Reboot Ire ...

at the 2016 general election and in

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

and also served as a Mayor of Drogheda and on Louth County Council from 1999-2014 for Fine Gael.

References

External links

Fergus O'Dowd's page on the Fine Gael website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odowd, Fergus 1948 births Living people Fine Gael TDs Irish schoolteachers Members of Louth County Council Members of the 21st Seanad Members of the 29th Dáil Members of the 30th Dáil Members of the 31st Dáil Members of the 32nd Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil Ministers of state of the 31st Dáil People from Thurles Politicians from County Louth Politicians from County Tipperary Fine Gael senators Alumni of Maynooth University Labour Party (Ireland) candidates in Dáil elections Administrative Panel senators Labour Party (Ireland) local councillors Fine Gael local councillors