Opinion

Deaglán de Bréadún: Desmond O'Malley's career was full of dramatic highlights

Deaglán de Bréadún
Deaglán de Bréadún Deaglán de Bréadún

SOME political careers are rather quiet and low-key whereas others are full of dramatic highlights.

The late Desmond O’Malley’s time on the political stage was very much in the latter category, starting with his arrival on the scene as winner of the Limerick East by-election held on May 22 1968. A dear deceased brother of mine with Fianna Fáil sympathies went down from Dublin to canvass for the man whose uncle, Donogh O’Malley, brought about major social change by introducing free secondary education to the Republic of Ireland but who died at the early age of 47, leaving a vacancy in the Dáil.

Some Fianna Fáil supporters (acting unofficially no doubt and without the candidate’s approval) chalked the number “77” in red on footpaths in Limerick City to remind voters of the number of republicans executed in the 1922-23 Civil War by predecessors of the Fine Gael party.

Ironically, Des O’Malley turned out to be the most measured of politicians in his attitude to “the national question” throughout his 34 years on the public stage. He was a significant figure in the Arms Crisis of 1970, arguably the most disturbed period in the politics of this island since the early 1920s. As Minister for Justice at the age of 31 years, he took a very strong line against the Provisional IRA, putting himself at personal risk in the process. He was not well-disposed at that stage either towards government colleagues such as Charles J Haughey and Neil Blaney who were seen as having a more traditional republican approach to politics.

After four years in opposition from 1973 he returned to government as Minister for Industry and Commerce in the aftermath of Fianna Fáil’s stunning election victory by 23 seats in 1977 (how times have changed since.) Charlie Haughey took over as party leader in 1979 but O’Malley remained in the cabinet, resigning in October 1982 prior to an unsuccessful vote of no confidence in Haughey’s leadership. O’Malley later lost the party whip and, in early 1985, one of the most high-profile moments of his career took place. Fianna Fáil, who were out of government at the time, opposed controversial legislation by the Fine Gael-Labour coalition to liberalise contraception but O’Malley abstained as a matter of conscience and famously declared: “I stand by the republic”.

Shortly afterwards, Haughey had him expelled from the party using a term that also became part of political folklore: “conduct unbecoming”.

O’Malley went on to lead the newly-founded Progressive Democrats which combined economic and social liberalism and won an impressive 14 seats in the 1987 general election.

Politics is full of surprises and two years later the PDs formed a coalition government with Fianna Fáil, where Haughey was taoiseach and O’Malley back in his old job as Minister for Industry and Commerce. His relations with Haughey were surprisingly good for most of the time but, soon after Albert Reynolds took over as Fianna Fáil leader and taoiseach, a row erupted and the coalition collapsed.

O’Malley spent the next ten years in opposition and retired in 2002. As a journalist covering the political scene, I always found him straight and direct as well as being good company along with his wife, Pat, who predeceased him in 2017.