Michael Patrick "Mickey" Hennessy (August 8, 1915 – March 5, 1991) was a boxer and politician in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. He served in the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

from 1977 to 1987, as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party.

Background

Hennessy was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, and educated at

St. Michael's High School St. Michael's High School is a private Catholic junior/senior high school located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is privately run under the auspices of the international Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, b ...

and Luke Callaghan High School. During the 1930s, he was a national boxing champion in Canada and was inducted to the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame in 1977. Hennessy was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, and a member of the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic Church, Catholic Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney, Blessed Michael J. McGivney. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. ...

Politics

Hennessy was a member of the Fort William city council from 1962 to 1969, and served on the

Thunder Bay City Council The Thunder Bay City Council is the governing body of the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. It consists of a List of mayors of Thunder Bay, Ontario, mayor and twelve councillors. The mayor and five of the councillors are elected At-large, at l ...

for seven years after amalgamation. He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in the 1977 provincial election, defeating

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

candidate

Iain Angus Iain Francis Angus (born June 1, 1947) is a Canadian politician, who has served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and the House of Commons of Canada, as well as on Thunder Bay City Council. Then an employee with the city of Thunder Bay, An ...

by 2,256 votes in Fort William. Hennessy was re-elected without difficulty in the provincial elections of

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, and

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

. He served as a

backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of t ...

supporter of the

Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Behind Oliver Mowat, Davis was the List of premiers of Ontario by time in office, second-longes ...

and

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book artist, comic book writer, and screenwriter known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'', for which he created the character Elektra, and ...

administrations. He lost his provincial seat in the 1987 election, falling to

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

Lyn McLeod Lyn McLeod (born ) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1987 to 2003. McLeod was a cabinet minister in the Liberal government of David Peterson from 1987 to 1990, and served as leade ...

by 1,463 votes. Hennessy campaigned for re-election to the

in 1988, and won more votes than any other candidate. He died in 1991, less than twenty-four hours after attending his last council meeting. The legislature paid tribute to Hennessy on March 18, 1991.

Mike Harris Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a retired Canadian politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. Taking the PC ...

, then leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, credited Hennessy with bringing "a touch of the common person back to the caucus discussions".

References

External links

*
Tribute to Hennessy in the Legislative Assembly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hennessy, Mickey 1915 births 1991 deaths Anglophone Quebec people Boxers from Montreal Canadian people of Irish descent Canadian sportsperson-politicians Politicians from Montreal Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Thunder Bay city councillors Canadian male boxers 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario 20th-century Canadian sportsmen