Tracing Enda’s political career
On the 45th anniversary of him first being elected, Tom Gillespie looks back on Enda Kenny's political career in his County Town column
FORTY-FIVE years ago, on Wednesday, November 12, 1975, after what was an electrifying Mayo West by-election, 25-year-old Enda Kenny was elected to Dáil Éireann.
The contest was created following the death of his father, Henry, who was a Parliamentary Secretary in the 19th Dáil.
Henry, who won an All-Ireland football medal for Mayo in 1936, was born on September 7, 1913, and died on September 25, 1975.
There were three candidates in the by-election - Enda Kenny (Fine Gael), who received 15,584 first preference votes (52.8%), Balla’s Michael Joe McGreal (Fianna Fáil), 12,448 (42.2%), and Independent Basil Morahan, from Louisburgh, who polled 1,481 number ones (five per cent).
Little did Enda realise as he was lifted shoulder high outside the count centre in the dining hall of Castlebar Military Barracks, by the late Tom Molloy, Mulranny, and Frank Chambers, Newport, that he would become party leader and ultimately Taoiseach of this country.
He had only settled in the Dáil chamber when, in mid-1977, he faced into his first general election, which saw a Fianna Fáil landslide.
However, in West Mayo, Enda’s power base remained strong and he polled 9,457 first preference votes and was elected on the first count (the quota being 8,250).
That election saw the entry of Padraig Flynn (FF) to national politics when he was elected on the fourth count at the count centre in Westport. He received 5,439 number one votes.
Denis Gallagher (FF), with 7,958 first preferences, was deemed elected on the third count.
In 1981 and February ’82, Enda was ahead of the quota and romped home in the first counts.
In November ’82, ’87 and ‘89 he was elected on the second counts. In 1992 he had to wait until the fourth count, in ’97 in was the seventh count, while in 2002 it took 'til the ninth count.
Serving from 1975 until his retirement on February 2020, Enda was the longest serving TD in the Dáil.
He was educated at Cornanool National School under teacher the late John Egan from Newport Road, Castlebar. When Enda was first elected, one of the first people to congratulate him in the military barracks was a proud John.
Enda’s second and third-level education was at St. Gerald’s College, Castlebar, St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra, and UCG. He was teaching in Carrowkennedy NS, Westport, went he opted for a change in career.
He served as a member of Mayo County Council from 1975 to 1995 when he was appointed Minister for Trade and Tourism.
He was Minister for State at the Department of Education and Labour from 1986 to 1987 and the Fine Gael Chief Whip from 1992 to 1994.
As Minister for Tourism and Trade from 1994 to ’97 he was to the forefront in promoting Turlough Park House at the location for the Museum of Country Life. The museum opened in September 2001 and has proved a huge attraction for both visitors and locals alike.
In June 2002 Enda Kenny became leader of Fine Gael, taking over at a time when the party was at an all-time low. He succeeded in building the organisation from the grassroots up into a dynamic political force, achieving the ultimate goal of position as Taoiseach.
Enda was my classmate in St. Gerald’s College, Castlebar. I well remember the front-page headline of ‘That’s My Boy’ in The Connaught Telegraph on the week after he was first elected over a photograph of John Egan congratulating Enda on his Dáil achievement.
Enda’s father’s entry into politics was unusual in the sense that neither he nor his family were steeped in politics at the time.
In spite of this, he was elected to Dáil Éireann at his first attempt at the 1954 general election as a Fine Gael TD for the Mayo South constituency.
The election saw Fine Gael enter government as the lead party in the country's second inter-party government.
Henry Kenny, as a new TD, remained on the backbenches, however, and was subsequently elected to Mayo County Council. He retained his seat at the 1957 general election, but, Fine Gael lost power as Fianna Fáil began 16 years of uninterrupted rule.
During that time he retained his Dáil seat at every general election, even after moving to the Mayo West constituency in 1969.
That same year he was appointed Fine Gael spokesperson on the Board of Works, a position he held until 1972.
The results of the 1973 general election saw Fine Gael and the Labour Party form a coalition government. Kenny was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance where he had responsibility for the Board of Works.
On May 17, 2017, Enda Kenny announced his intention to step down as party leader, effective at midnight. He requested that the party conclude the election of his successor by June 2, and said that he would step down as Taoiseach shortly thereafter.
In the ensuing election, Minister for Social Protection, Leo Varadkar, was elected leader of Fine Gael. In a statement, Kenny offered his ‘heartiest congratulations’ to Varadkar, saying: "This is a tremendous honour for him and I know he will devote his life to improving the lives of people across our country."
On June 13, 2017, Kenny tendered his resignation as Taoiseach. The following day, he nominated Varadkar to formally succeed him as Taoiseach in the Dáil. The Dáil approved the nomination. Kenny then made his farewell address to the Dáil, quoting US President Theodore Roosevelt: "Far and away, the best prize that life has to offer is a chance to work hard at work worth doing."
After receiving a standing ovation, Enda departed for Áras an Uachtaráin and submitted his resignation to President Michael D. Higgins. In his last duty as Taoiseach he advised the President that the Dáil had nominated Varadkar as Taoiseach, and that the President should thus invite him to form a new government and appoint him as Taoiseach in accordance with the constitution.
Enda is now set to present a six-part series on RTÉ on Irish railways from times past.