Jimmy Deenihan (born 11 September 1952) 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 Minister of State for the Diaspora from 2014 to 2016, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht from 2011 to 2014 and Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry from 1994 to 1997. He 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) from 1987 to 2016. He was 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 ...

from 1983 to 1987, after being

nominated by the Taoiseach A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...

. Deenihan played

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

for the Kerry county team in the 1970s and 1980s. He also played

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

with Garryowen.

Early and private life

Deenihan was born in Finuge, Lixnaw,

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

, in 1952. He was educated at St Michael's College,

Listowel Listowel ( ; , ) is a heritage market town in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the River Feale, from the county town, Tralee. The town of Listowel had a population of 4,794 according to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the third large ...

and later at the Thomond College of Education in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

. He also spent time in college in the UK. He is married to Mary, daughter of former Kerry footballer John Dowling, who is a teacher of history and economics in Mercy Secondary School, Mounthawk.

Football career

Club

Deenihan had much success at club and divisional level with his local teams. At under-age level he won an under-14 North Kerry Championship with Finuge in 1963. Five years later in 1968, he won an under-16 North Kerry Championship with the Listowel Emmet's club. He also played with the St Senan's club at minor level. With Finuge Deenihan also won a North Kerry Senior League title in 1970, as well as a North Kerry Senior Championship title in 1987. With his local divisional team, Feale Rangers, he won two senior

county championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

medals in 1978 and 1980. While in college at

St Mary's University, Twickenham St Mary's University, Twickenham is a public university in Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its stated commitment is to the mission of the Catholic Church in higher education. History Originally foun ...

in London he played with the Kingdom club and won a

London Senior Football Championship The London Senior Football Championship is a Gaelic Athletic Association cup competition between the top Gaelic football clubs in London, England. The London GAA, London Football championship began in 1897 with Ireland United winning the first ti ...

Inter-county

By the late 1960s, Deenihan was a key part of Kerry's inter-county set-up and was playing on the county's minor team. In 1970, he won a Munster minor medal, however, he never won an

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...

medal. Deenihan later moved on to the county's under-21 team, where he won back-to-back Munster titles in 1972 and 1973, as well as an

title in 1973. By this stage, Deenihan was also a member of the Kerry senior football team. He won his first

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

medal in 1973, however,

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

were the kingpins in the Munster Championship. Two years later in 1975, Deenihan captured his first Munster Championship and

medals at senior level, under the new management of the legendary

Mick O'Dwyer Michael O'Dwyer (9 June 1936 – 3 April 2025) was an Irish Gaelic football manager and player. He most famously managed the senior Kerry county team between 1974 and 1989, during which time he became the county's longest-serving manager, and ...

. It was the beginning of a glorious era for Kerry football and Deenihan played a key role in orchestrating much of the success. In 1976, Deenihan won his second Munster title, however,

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 ...

gained revenge for the previous year by defeating Kerry in the All-Ireland final. 1977 was another frustrating year as Kerry won another set of National league and Munster titles but lost out to Dublin yet again, this time in the All-Ireland semi-final. By 1978, Kerry were ready for success. They easily won another Munster title and breezed into the All-Ireland final to face Dublin. The game itself is remembered for

Mikey Sheehy Michael Sheehy (born 28 July 1954) is an Irish Gaelic football selector and former player. His league and championship career at senior level with the Kerry county team spanned fifteen seasons from 1973 to 1988. Born in Tralee, County Kerry, ...

's cheeky goal which he scored by lobbing the ball over the head of Paddy Cullen. The final score was 5–11 to 0–9 and Deenihan had finally secured a second All-Ireland medal. In 1979, Deenihan captured a fifth provincial title before later capturing a third All-Ireland medal following another emphatic victory over Dublin. In 1980, Kerry breezed through the Munster Championship once again and later defeated

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

to win a third consecutive All-Ireland title. In 1981, Deenihan was appointed captain of the Kerry senior football team. It was a very special year as he collected his seventh consecutive Munster Championship medal before later leading Kerry out in a fourth All-Ireland final appearance. On the day the men from 'the Kingdom' easily defeated

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 ...

to give Deenihan his fifth All-Ireland medal. He rounded off the year by being presented with an

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

award. At the start of 1982 Deenihan won a third National League medal when he

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

ed Kerry to victory over Cork. Later that summer he broke his leg in training. He remained out of the game for eight months, meaning the injury effectively ended his inter-county career. Deenihan's last appearance in a Kerry jersey was in May 1983 when he played a challenge game at the opening of the Tarbert GAA field. Deenihan also won

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship () or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster GAA teams are co ...

medals with

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

in 1975, 1976, 1978, 1981 and 1982.

Political career

Seanad and Dáil Éireann

As Deenihan's inter-county football career was drawing to a close, his political career was just beginning. He unsuccessfully contested Kerry North at the November 1982 general election. In 1983, he was appointed 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 ...

as a nominee of Taoiseach

Garret FitzGerald Garret Desmond FitzGerald (9 February 192619 May 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, economist, and barrister who served twice as Taoiseach, serving from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. He served as Leader of Fine Gael from 1977 to 1987 an ...

. Deenihan later became involved in local politics as 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 ...

. He 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 ...

for the first time at the 1987 general election, for Kerry North, and was re-elected there at the six subsequent general elections. Deenihan held a number of

front bench In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then kno ...

portfolios for Fine Gael, including Youth and Sport (1988–1992) and Tourism and Trade (1992–1994) while Fine Gael were in opposition. In 1994 Fine Gael came to office without a general election, and on 20 December 1994 Deenihan was appointed by the Fine Gael–Labour–Democratic Left coalition government as Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. In 1997, he became party spokesperson for the

Office of Public Works The Office of Public Works (OPW) (; legally the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland) is a major Government of Ireland, Irish Government agency, which manages most of the Irish State's property portfolio, including hundreds of owned and ren ...

. In the 2002 general election, which resulted in a near meltdown for Fine Gael, Deenihan saw his toughest election to date, being re-elected by a margin of almost 500 votes ahead of sitting TD

Dick Spring Richard Martin Spring (born 29 August 1950) is an Irish former Labour Party (Ireland), Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste from 1982 to 1987, 1992 to November 1994, and December 1994 to 1997, Leader of the Labour Party (Ireland), L ...

. After the election of Enda Kenny as party leader he again received a Fine Gael front bench position as party spokesperson for Arts, Sport and Tourism. In the aftermath of the 2007 general election, he became party spokesperson on

Defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

, after being elected atop the poll in the Kerry North constituency with 12,697 votes. In July 2010, he was appointed as party spokesperson on Tourism, Culture and Sport.

Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

At the 2011 general election, he was elected for the new constituency of Kerry North–West Limerick. On 9 March 2011, he was appointed a member of the Fine Gael–Labour government as Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. In May 2011, he set out proposals to acquire from the

Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland Group plc () is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the bank occupies a unique position in Irish banking history. At ...

the old Irish Parliament building in College Green for the state, to use as a cultural venue. In November 2011, he met with the stars of '' Titanic: Blood & Steel'', while they were filming on location in Dublin. He was reported by the ''

Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Republic of Ireland, Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork (city), Cork, though it is ...

'' as having announced the awarding of the title of City of Culture 2014 to Limerick in June 2012 without indicating the criteria for selection.

Minister of State for the Diaspora

On 11 July 2014, he was dropped as a

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

in a reshuffle, and was appointed by the government as

Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

and at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with responsibility for the

Diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

. His constituency was abolished at the 2016 general election; he stood for election in Kerry, but was not elected.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deenihan, Jimmy 1952 births Living people All-Ireland–winning captains (football) All Stars Awards winners (football) Alumni of St Mary's University, Twickenham Alumni of the University of Limerick Fine Gael senators Fine Gael TDs Fingue Gaelic footballers Gaelic football backs Gaelic footballers who switched code Garryowen Football Club players Irish schoolteachers Irish sportsperson-politicians Kerry inter-county Gaelic footballers Listowel Emmets Gaelic footballers Members of Kerry County Council Members of the 17th Seanad Members of the 25th Dáil Members of the 26th Dáil Members of the 27th Dáil Members of the 28th Dáil Members of the 29th Dáil Members of the 30th Dáil Members of the 31st Dáil Ministers of State of the 27th Dáil Ministers of State of the 31st Dáil Nominated members of Seanad Éireann People educated at St Michael's College, Listowel Politicians from County Kerry Rugby union players from County Kerry St Senan's (Kerry) Gaelic footballers Winners of five All-Ireland medals (Gaelic football)