Michael Gleeson (born 1946 in

Killarney Killarney ( ; , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Killar ...

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 ...

) is an Irish former politician and sportsperson.

Sporting career

He 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 ...

with his local club

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

and was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1969 until 1972. He was also a member of the Kerry junior team and won an

All-Ireland Junior Football Championship The All-Ireland Junior Football Championship is a Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA competition It has historically consisted of two entirely different formats before and after 2021, but has retained the same name. Since 2022, the competition ...

medal in 1967. He won three

Kerry Senior Football Championship The Kerry Senior Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as Garvey’s SuperValu Senior Football Championship) is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 18 ...

s, a

Munster Senior Club Football Championship The Munster Senior Club Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Munster GAA Football Senior Club Championship) is an annual Gaelic football competition for the champion clubs of each county. It has been organised by the ...

and an

All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament which began in season 1970–71. It is the top-tier competition for the senior football clubs of Ireland and London. The current champions are Cuala of D ...

with East Kerry. With

he won seven

East Kerry Senior Football Championship The East Kerry Senior Football Championship an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the East Kerry Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1925 for the top Gaelic football teams in the North Kerry in Ireland. The championsh ...

titles and a County Intermediate Football Championship. During his college days in

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 ...

he won a

Dublin Under 21 Football Championship The Dublin Under 21 Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association club competition between the under-21 Gaelic footballers of Dublin clubs. The current (2022) under 21 champions of Dublin are Ballinteer St. John's who beat Ba ...

with Erins Hope in 1966. He later played with UCD and won a

Sigerson Cup The Sigerson Cup is the trophy for the premier Gaelic football championship among Higher Education institutions (Universities, Colleges and Institutes of Technology) in Ireland. It traditionally begins in mid January and ends in late February. T ...

with them.

Political career

He was a

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

lor from 1991 to 2014; and a

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 ...

lor from 1983 to 1991 representing the Labour Party; and from 1999 to 2021 as part of the

Kerry Independent Alliance The Kerry Independent Alliance is a minor political party in the Republic of Ireland. It was established as the South Kerry Independent Alliance (SKIA) by former Labour Party members in the 1990s based in the Kerry South constituency. Since 19 ...

. He was an unsuccessful candidate at the 2011 general election. He has also been

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Killarney. He retired from politics in May 2021 and was replaced on the council by his nephew John O'Donoghue.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gleeson, Mick 1946 births Living people Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of St Patrick's College, Dublin Independent politicians in Ireland Irish sportsperson-politicians Kerry inter-county Gaelic footballers Members of Kerry County Council Mayors of places in the Republic of Ireland Spa Gaelic footballers UCD Gaelic footballers Labour Party (Ireland) politicians Candidates in Dáil elections