Jan O'Sullivan
Encyclopedia
Jan O'Sullivan is an Irish
Labour Party
politician. She is a Teachta Dála
(TD) for Limerick City
constituency and is the current Minister of State for Trade and Development
.
, County Clare
and educated at Villiers Secondary School
, Limerick
, where her father was a journalist. After graduating from Trinity College, Dublin
, she took a Higher Diploma in Education at University College, Cork. After working as teacher for a short period of time, she studied as a Montessori teacher while living in Canada.
A member of the Church of Ireland
, she married a Roman Catholic, Paul O'Sullivan, with whom she has one daughter and one son. She chose to spend time at home while having her children and once they were in school she ran a playgroup in the mornings, spent time with the children in the afternoon and political work in the evenings.
clinic. She entered politics in 1982 by joining the Democratic Socialist Party
(DSP), a small party founded by Limerick TD Jim Kemmy
, who had previously been a member of the Labour Party. There had been no political tradition in her family – her parents had supported different parties – and her choice of party was based on her support for Kemmy's anti-nationalist stance on Northern Ireland, and his advocacy of family planning services and a pro-choice
approach to abortion.
O'Sullivan was elected to Limerick City Council
in 1985, and also served as a member of the Mid-Western Health Board from 1991 to 2003. She joined the Labour Party when the DSP merged with Labour in 1990, having been one of the DSP's negotiators in the merger discussions. At the 1992 general election
as running-mate of the DSP's founder Jim Kemmy
she narrowly missed winning a second seat for Labour in Limerick East. In 1993, she was elected to the 20th Seanad on the Administrative Panel, and became leader of the Labour group in Seanad Éireann
.
From 1993 to 1994 O'Sullivan was Mayor of Limerick, and her religion twice became an issue in 1994 when she prevented from opening a Christian Brothers
school and from reading a lesson at a mass for Limerick's civic week. However, her religious denomination was not the only issue. Family planning was deeply controversial in Ireland from the 1970s to the 1990s, particularly in Limerick where Kemmy had lost his Dáil seat in the November 1982 general election after being denounced by the Catholic Church for his opposition to the pro-life amendment
to the constitution. Those such as O'Sullivan involved in the family planning services which Kemmy had helped found were labelled "Kemmy's Femmies".
O'Sullivan was unsuccessful again at the 1997 general election
, but after Kemmy died in September 1997, she was selected as the Labour Party candidate for the by-election in March 1998. She held the seat in a close 3-way contest, becoming the first female TD from County Limerick
since Kathleen O'Callaghan
in 1921. Both the Fianna Fáil
and Fine Gael
candidates in the by-election were women, but O'Sullivan remains Limerick's only female TD.
She was re-elected at the 2002
and 2007 general elections, and at the local elections in 1999 became Limerick's first alderwoman
(as well as it last, since the title was abolished by the Local Government Act 2001
).
In the 28th Dáil, O'Sullivan was the Labour Party spokesperson on Justice and Equality and a member of the Oireachtas
Joint Committee on Justice, Equality and Women's Rights. In the 29th Dáil (2002–2007) she was Vice-Chair of the both the Dáil Select Committee on Education and Science and the Joint Committee on Education and Science, as well as her party's spokesperson on Education and Science.
After Labour's disappointing performance in the 2007 general election, Pat Rabbitte
resigned as leader and the outgoing deputy leader, Liz McManus
, did not seek re-election. Eamon Gilmore
was elected unopposed as leader, and in a frontbench reshuffle on 16 September 2007, moved O'Sullivan to the high-profile role of spokesperson for Health
.
O'Sullivan stood for the Deputy Leader
ship, and was narrowly defeated by Dublin West TD Joan Burton
, by 1480 votes to 1276.
On 10 March 2011, she was appointed as Minister of State for Trade and Development
.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
Labour Party
Labour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
politician. She is a Teachta Dála
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
(TD) for Limerick City
Limerick City (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Limerick City is a parliamentary constituency in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 4 deputies...
constituency and is the current Minister of State for Trade and Development
Ministers of State of the 31st Dáil
This is a list of Ministers of State of the 31st Dáil. On 9 March 2011, the 29th Government of Ireland was nominated by Dáil Éireann on the advice of the Taoiseach, and then appointed by the President...
.
Personal life
O'Sullivan was born in ClonlaraClonlara
Clonlara, officially Cloonlara ,Clonlara, officially Cloonlara ,Clonlara, officially Cloonlara , is a village in County Clare, Ireland.-Sports:Clonlara has a GAA club and an equestrian centre.-Natives:...
, County Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
and educated at Villiers Secondary School
Villiers Secondary School
Villiers School is a co-educational, fee paying, boarding and day secondary school, located on the North Circular Road, Limerick, Ireland. It is Limerick city's only fee paying protestant secondary school.-History:...
, Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
, where her father was a journalist. After graduating from Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, she took a Higher Diploma in Education at University College, Cork. After working as teacher for a short period of time, she studied as a Montessori teacher while living in Canada.
A member of the Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
, she married a Roman Catholic, Paul O'Sullivan, with whom she has one daughter and one son. She chose to spend time at home while having her children and once they were in school she ran a playgroup in the mornings, spent time with the children in the afternoon and political work in the evenings.
Political career
After returning to Ireland, in the late 1970s, O'Sullivan helped to run Limerick's Family planningFamily planning
Family planning is the planning of when to have children, and the use of birth control and other techniques to implement such plans. Other techniques commonly used include sexuality education, prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, pre-conception counseling and...
clinic. She entered politics in 1982 by joining the Democratic Socialist Party
Democratic Socialist Party (Ireland)
The Democratic Socialist Party was a small left wing political party in the Republic of Ireland. It was a merger of Jim Kemmy's Limerick Socialist Organisation and the Socialist Party of Ireland. Jim Kemmy was an Irish politician and member of Dáil Éireann...
(DSP), a small party founded by Limerick TD Jim Kemmy
Jim Kemmy
Jim Kemmy was an Irish socialist politician from Limerick, who started his political career in the Labour Party...
, who had previously been a member of the Labour Party. There had been no political tradition in her family – her parents had supported different parties – and her choice of party was based on her support for Kemmy's anti-nationalist stance on Northern Ireland, and his advocacy of family planning services and a pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
approach to abortion.
O'Sullivan was elected to Limerick City Council
Limerick City Council
Limerick City Council is the local authority which is responsible for the city of Limerick in Ireland. It is the responsible for local government, sanitation, motor vehicles tax, and social housing.-History:...
in 1985, and also served as a member of the Mid-Western Health Board from 1991 to 2003. She joined the Labour Party when the DSP merged with Labour in 1990, having been one of the DSP's negotiators in the merger discussions. At the 1992 general election
Irish general election, 1992
The Irish general election of 1992 was held on Wednesday, 25 November 1992, almost three weeks after the dissolution of the Dáil on 5 November. However, after difficulties in forming a government the newly elected 166 members of the 27th Dáil did not assemble at Leinster House until 4 January 1993...
as running-mate of the DSP's founder Jim Kemmy
Jim Kemmy
Jim Kemmy was an Irish socialist politician from Limerick, who started his political career in the Labour Party...
she narrowly missed winning a second seat for Labour in Limerick East. In 1993, she was elected to the 20th Seanad on the Administrative Panel, and became leader of the Labour group in Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas , which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann . It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members Senators or Seanadóirí . Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by...
.
From 1993 to 1994 O'Sullivan was Mayor of Limerick, and her religion twice became an issue in 1994 when she prevented from opening a Christian Brothers
Congregation of Christian Brothers
The Congregation of Christian Brothers is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. The Christian Brothers, as they are commonly known, chiefly work for the evangelisation and education of youth, but are involved in many ministries, especially with...
school and from reading a lesson at a mass for Limerick's civic week. However, her religious denomination was not the only issue. Family planning was deeply controversial in Ireland from the 1970s to the 1990s, particularly in Limerick where Kemmy had lost his Dáil seat in the November 1982 general election after being denounced by the Catholic Church for his opposition to the pro-life amendment
Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland
The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland introduced a constitutional ban on abortion. It was effected by the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1983, which was approved by referendum on 7 September 1983 and signed into law on the 7 October of the same year.-Changes to the...
to the constitution. Those such as O'Sullivan involved in the family planning services which Kemmy had helped found were labelled "Kemmy's Femmies".
O'Sullivan was unsuccessful again at the 1997 general election
Irish general election, 1997
The Irish general election of 1997 was held on Friday, 6 June 1997. The 166 newly elected members of the 28th Dáil assembled on 26 June 1997 when a new Taoiseach and government were appointed....
, but after Kemmy died in September 1997, she was selected as the Labour Party candidate for the by-election in March 1998. She held the seat in a close 3-way contest, becoming the first female TD from County Limerick
County Limerick
It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...
since Kathleen O'Callaghan
Kathleen O'Callaghan
Professor Kathleen O'Callaghan was an Irish Sinn Féin politician and academic. Educated at the Royal University of Ireland and Cambridge, before entering politics she was a member of Cumann na mBan...
in 1921. Both the Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
and Fine Gael
Fine Gael
Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...
candidates in the by-election were women, but O'Sullivan remains Limerick's only female TD.
She was re-elected at the 2002
Irish general election, 2002
The Irish general election of 2002 was held on Friday, 17 May 2002 just over three weeks after the dissolution of the 28th Dáil on Thursday 25 April by President Mary McAleese, at the request of the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern...
and 2007 general elections, and at the local elections in 1999 became Limerick's first alderwoman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
(as well as it last, since the title was abolished by the Local Government Act 2001
Local Government Act 2001
The Local Government Act, 2001 was enacted by the Oireachtas of the Republic of Ireland on 21 July 2001. Most of the provisions of the Act came into operation on 1 January 2002....
).
In the 28th Dáil, O'Sullivan was the Labour Party spokesperson on Justice and Equality and a member of the Oireachtas
Oireachtas
The Oireachtas , sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the "national parliament" or legislature of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:*The President of Ireland*The two Houses of the Oireachtas :**Dáil Éireann...
Joint Committee on Justice, Equality and Women's Rights. In the 29th Dáil (2002–2007) she was Vice-Chair of the both the Dáil Select Committee on Education and Science and the Joint Committee on Education and Science, as well as her party's spokesperson on Education and Science.
After Labour's disappointing performance in the 2007 general election, Pat Rabbitte
Pat Rabbitte
Pat Rabbitte is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources since March 2011...
resigned as leader and the outgoing deputy leader, Liz McManus
Liz McManus
Elizabeth "Liz" McManus is a former Irish politician. She served as a Teachta Dála for the Wicklow constituency from 1992 to 2011.-Personal life:...
, did not seek re-election. Eamon Gilmore
Eamon Gilmore
Eamon Gilmore is an Irish Labour Party politician and the current Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. He has been the Leader of the Labour Party since September 2007, and a Teachta Dála for the Dún Laoghaire constituency since 1989, first with the Workers' Party of Ireland, and...
was elected unopposed as leader, and in a frontbench reshuffle on 16 September 2007, moved O'Sullivan to the high-profile role of spokesperson for Health
Minister for Health and Children (Ireland)
The Minister for Health is the senior minister at the Department of Health in the Government of Ireland and is responsible for health care in the Republic of Ireland and related services.The current Minister for Health is James Reilly, TD...
.
O'Sullivan stood for the Deputy Leader
Deputy Leader
A deputy leader in the Westminster system is the second-in-command of a political party, behind the party leader. Deputy leaders often become deputy prime minister when their parties are elected to government. In opposition, deputy leaders often lead Question Time sessions when the party leader is...
ship, and was narrowly defeated by Dublin West TD Joan Burton
Joan Burton
Joan Burton is an Irish Labour Party politician and the current Minister for Social Protection. She is a Teachta Dála for the Dublin West constituency....
, by 1480 votes to 1276.
On 10 March 2011, she was appointed as Minister of State for Trade and Development
Ministers of State of the 31st Dáil
This is a list of Ministers of State of the 31st Dáil. On 9 March 2011, the 29th Government of Ireland was nominated by Dáil Éireann on the advice of the Taoiseach, and then appointed by the President...
.