Jim O'Callaghan (born 5 January 1968) 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 served as

Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration () is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has overall responsi ...

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 Dublin Bay South constituency since the 2016 general election.

Legal career

O'Callaghan has a BCL degree from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

, a master's degree in law and an M.Phil. in criminology from

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

, and a barrister-at-law degree from the

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns () is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environments. The Benchers of King's Inns aw ...

. O'Callaghan devilled for Rory Brady. In 2000, he represented Taoiseach

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, and as Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008. A Teachta Dála (TD) from 1977 to 2011, he served ...

in defamation proceedings against a businessman, appearing with Rory Brady and Paul Gallagher, both of whom later served as

Attorney General of Ireland The attorney general of Ireland () is a constitutional officer who is the legal adviser to the Government and is therefore the chief law officer of the State. The attorney general is not a member of the Government but does participate in cabine ...

. He was made a senior counsel in 2008. O'Callaghan also served as a legal adviser to Fianna Fáil from January 2011 to his election to the Dáil. In 2014, he co-edited a book titled, ''Law and Government: A Tribute to Rory Brady''.

Political career

He was a member of

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of the city of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the authority was k ...

from 2009 to 2016. He unsuccessfully ran as a candidate for Fianna Fáil in the 2007 general election in Dublin South-East. He was a member of the Fianna Fáil negotiating team in talks on government formation in 2016. Early on 9 April 2016, O'Callaghan's home hosted a covert meeting between O'Callaghan,

Leo Varadkar Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2017 to 2020 and from 2022 to 2024, as Tánaiste from 2020 to 2022, and as leader of Fine Gael from 2017 to 2024. A Teachta Dála, ...

, Deirdre Gillane (chief adviser of

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 ...

) and Andrew McDowell (a policy adviser of

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 ...

). It lasted for more than an hour. On 19 May 2016, he was appointed as

Spokesperson for Justice and Equality by party leader

. He drafted and secured cross-party support for his Parole Bill which was passed by the Oireachtas and became an Act. It reformed the parole system giving victims of crime and their families the right to be heard during the parole process. O'Callaghan also introduced a Judicial Appointments Commission Bill on 18 October 2016 that sought to amend the process by which judges were appointed. Although the Bill passed second stage in the Dáil, it was not supported by the Fine Gael minority Government which instead pursued legislation proposed by the Minister for Transport,

Shane Ross Shane Peter Nathaniel Ross (born 11 July 1949) is an Irish former Independent politician who served as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport from May 2016 to June 2020. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Rathdown constituency from 2 ...

, though with changes. In November 2016, O'Callaghan met with some of those who had been sexually abused as boys by Bill Kenneally, Fianna Fáil tallyman and cousin of former Fianna Fáil TD Brendan Kenneally. Brendan Kenneally had previously acknowledged that he had been aware of his cousin's crimes before his sentencing to 14 years imprisonment. On 10 July 2018 the Government established a Commission of Investigation under Judge Barry Hickson to investigate the Kenneally allegations. At the 2020 general election, O'Callaghan was re-elected as a TD for the Dublin Bay South constituency. In July 2020 O'Callaghan declined the position of

Minister of State at the Department of Justice The Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration of the Government of Ireland who performs duties and functions delegated by the M ...

in the

32nd Government of Ireland 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

offered to him by

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 ...

Micheál Martin, stating that he wished to remain on the backbenches, providing a voice in Fianna Fáil outside of government, while also making the party more attractive to younger voters. In September 2020 O'Callaghan told

RTÉ Radio RTÉ Radio is a division and service of Irish public broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), which broadcasts four analogue channels and five digital channels across Ireland. Founded in January 1926 as 2RN, was the first broadcaster in ...

he was interested in becoming the leader of Fianna Fáil following Martin. O'Callaghan was appointed as the party's spokesman on justice matters by Martin on 17 December 2020. O'Callaghan was the Fianna Fáil Director of Elections for the 2021 Dublin Bay South by-election in which the party's candidate came in fifth position. At the 2024 general election, O'Callaghan was re-elected to the Dáil. On 23 January 2025, he was appointed as

in the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

led by

Personal life

He played rugby at a senior level, representing UCD, Cambridge University, London Irish, Wanderers, Leinster and Connacht. He was also capped for Ireland at under-21 level. He is a frequent cyclist, regularly cycling to

Leinster House Leinster House () is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Duke of Leinster, Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it has been a complex of buildings which houses Oirea ...

and advocates for the expansion of

cycling infrastructure Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of bicycle pedal, pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the ...

in Dublin. He has four sisters, one of whom is the Irish broadcaster Miriam O'Callaghan.

References

External links

Jim O'Callaghan's page on the Fianna Fáil website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ocallaghan, Jim 1968 births Living people Fianna Fáil TDs Irish barristers Members of Dublin City Council Members of the 32nd Dáil Members of the 33rd Dáil Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of the University of Cambridge Alumni of King's Inns Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Fianna Fáil local councillors Members of the 34th Dáil Ministers for justice of Ireland