Seán Doherty (29 June 1944 – 7 June 2005) was 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 served as
Cathaoirleach
Cathaoirleach (; Irish language, Irish for Chair (officer), chairperson; plural: ) is the title of the chair (or speaker (politics), presiding officer) of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the legislature of Repub ...
of
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 ...
from 1989 to 1992,
Minister for Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
from March 1982 to December 1982 and
Minister of State for Justice from 1980 to 1981. 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 1977 to 1989 and 1992 to 2002. 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 ...
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 ...
from 1989 to 1992.
Background
Born and raised in
Cootehall near
Boyle, County Roscommon
Boyle (; ) is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located at the foot of the Curlew Mountains near Lough Key in the north of the county. Carrowkeel Megalithic Cemetery, the Drumanone Dolmen and the lakes of Lough Arrow and Lough Gara ...
, he was educated at national level in
County Leitrim
County Leitrim ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim, County Leitr ...
and then at
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 ...
and
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 ...
.
In 1965, Doherty became a member of the
Garda Síochána
(; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...
and served as a Detective in
Sligo
Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...
before joining the
Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...
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 ...
in the early 1970s.
Doherty came from a family which had a long tradition of public service and political involvement in County Roscommon. In 1973, Doherty took a seat on
Roscommon County Council
Roscommon County Council () is the local authority of County Roscommon, 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 plannin ...
, which was vacant after the death of his father.
Doherty married Maura Nangle, who is the sister of Irish musician
Carmel Gunning
Carmel Gunning is an Irish composer and musician, from Sligo, Ireland. Gunning is one of Ireland's most accomplished tin whistle players who is also known for her singing and Irish flute, flute playing and also plays guitar and button accordion. ...
. Together they had four daughters, Rachel Doherty was a councillor on Roscommon County Council.
Political career
After serving for four years as a local representative on Roscommon County Council, Doherty was elected as a Fianna Fáil
TD for the
Roscommon–Leitrim constituency at the
1977 general election.
Support of Charles Haughey
At the
1979 Fianna Fáil leadership election, Doherty was a key member of the "gang of five" which supported
Charles Haughey
Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who led four governments as Taoiseach: December 1979 to June 1981, March to December 1982, March 1987 to June 1989, and June 1989 to February 1992 ...
's campaign. The other members were
Albert Reynolds
Albert Martin Reynolds (3 November 1932 – 21 August 2014) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1992 to 1994. He held various cabinet positions between 1979 and 1991, including Ministe ...
,
Mark Killilea Jnr,
Tom McEllistrim and
Jackie Fahey. Haughey was successful in the contest and Doherty served as
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 ...
from 1979 to 1981. In the short-lived 1982 Fianna Fáil government, Doherty entered cabinet as
Minister for Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
.
Dowra affair
The brother of Seán Doherty's wife Maura,
Garda Thomas Nangle,
was charged with assaulting James McGovern, a native of
County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland.
The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...
, in a public house in December 1981. On 27 September 1982, hours before the case was due to be heard in the
District Court
District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy.
These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...
in
Dowra
Dowra () is a village and townland in northwest County Cavan, Ireland. Located in a valley on Lough Allen, it is the first village on, and marks the uppermost navigable point of, the River Shannon. On one side of its bridge is County Cavan; on ...
, a small village in northwest
County Cavan
County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...
, McGovern was arrested by the Special Branch of the
RUC on the basis of entirely false Garda intelligence that he was involved in terrorism. The case against Nangle was dismissed because the principal witness, McGovern, failed to appear in court. The solicitor representing Nangle was Kevin Doherty, Seán Doherty's brother.
This use of Garda/RUC Special Branch liaison, set up under the
Anglo-Irish Agreement
The Anglo-Irish Agreement was a 1985 treaty between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland which aimed to help bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The treaty gave the Irish government an advisory role in Northern Irelan ...
in 1985, prevented meetings between the
Garda Commissioner
The Garda Commissioner () – officially known as the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána () – is the head of the Garda Síochána, the national police force of Ireland. The Garda Commissioner is appointed by the Government of Ireland (Cabine ...
and the RUC chief constable for almost three years.
Phone tapping
After Doherty left office it was revealed in ''
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'' that he had ordered the
tapping of three journalists' home telephones. The newspaper also disclosed that he had been interfering in the workings of the Gardaí and the administration of justice for both political and personal reasons. In February 1983, he resigned from the parliamentary party. He was readmitted in December 1984. He was re-elected at the
1987 general election.
Seanad Éireann
At the
1989 general election, he was defeated by the
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
candidate
Tom Foxe.
[ He also unsuccessfully contested the ]1989 European Parliament election
The 1989 European Parliament election was a held on June Wednesday 15 to Sunday 18 across the 12 European Union member state in June 1989. It was the third European Parliament election but the first time that Spain and Portugal voted at the sam ...
held on the same day as the general election. Later in 1989, he 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 ...
on 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 ...
. He was elected as Cathaoirleach
Cathaoirleach (; Irish language, Irish for Chair (officer), chairperson; plural: ) is the title of the chair (or speaker (politics), presiding officer) of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the legislature of Repub ...
of the 19th Seanad.
Resignations of Doherty and Haughey
Doherty declared in an interview on '' Nighthawks'' that he had shown transcripts of the tapped phone conversations to Charles Haughey while Haughey was 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 ...
in 1982. Doherty had previously denied this. On 22 January 1992, resigned as Cathaoirleach "to preserve the integrity of the House from any impact resulting from last night's disclosures". Haughey continued to deny the claim, but was forced to resign as leader of Fianna Fáil and as Taoiseach.
Doherty was elected for Longford–Roscommon at the 1992 general election and held his seat until his retirement at the 2002 general election.
Death
Seán Doherty died at Letterkenny
Letterkenny ( , meaning "hillside of the O'Cannons"), nicknamed the Cathedral Town, is a large town in County Donegal, Ireland, on the River Swilly in the north-west of Ulster. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is a regional eco ...
General Hospital as a result of a brain haemorrhage
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...
on 7 June 2005 while on a family holiday in County Donegal
County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doherty, Sean
1944 births
2005 deaths
Fianna Fáil TDs
Cathaoirligh of Seanad Éireann
Members of the 21st Dáil
Members of the 22nd Dáil
Members of the 23rd Dáil
Members of the 24th Dáil
Members of the 25th Dáil
Members of the 19th Seanad
Members of the 27th Dáil
Members of the 28th Dáil
Members of Roscommon County Council
Ministers for justice of Ireland
Ministers of State of the 21st Dáil
Fianna Fáil senators
Alumni of King's Inns
Police officers from County Roscommon
Garda Síochána officers
Administrative Panel senators