35 Facts About Patrick Hillery

1.

Patrick John Hillery was an Irish Fianna Fail politician who served as the sixth president of Ireland from December 1976 to December 1990.

2.

Patrick Hillery served as vice-president of the European Commission and European commissioner for Social Affairs from 1973 to 1976, minister for External Affairs from 1969 to 1973, minister for Labour from 1966 to 1969, minister for Industry and Commerce from 1965 to 1969 and minister for Education from 1959 to 1965.

3.

Patrick Hillery served as a Teachta Dala for the Clare constituency from 1951 to 1973.

4.

At third level, Patrick Hillery attended University College Dublin, where he qualified with a degree in medicine.

5.

Patrick Hillery spent a year working as coroner for West Clare.

6.

Patrick Hillery received enough transfers from de Valera to be elected.

7.

Key among this new breed of politician was Patrick Hillery, who was given his first position in cabinet as Minister for Education in 1959, succeeding Jack Lynch in that post.

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8.

Patrick Hillery proposed access by students to all public examinations.

9.

In 1965, Patrick Hillery succeeded Lynch again by taking over as Minister for Industry and Commerce.

10.

Patrick Hillery only remained in this position for just over a year, becoming the country's first Minister for Labour in 1966, as industrial disputes began to take their toll.

11.

Patrick Hillery was invited by Lemass to allow his name to go forward for the leadership of the party he declined explaining that he had no interest.

12.

Patrick Hillery retained his post as Minister for Labour in Lynch's cabinet, serving until 1969.

13.

Patrick Hillery earned an international profile when, in the aftermath of the killing of fourteen unarmed civilians in Derry, by British paratroopers, he travelled to the United Nations to demand UN involvement in peace-keeping on the streets of Northern Ireland.

14.

Patrick Hillery was appointed Vice-President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Social Affairs.

15.

Patrick Hillery considered returning to medicine, perhaps moving with his wife, Maeve to Africa.

16.

When O Dalaigh resigned, a deeply reluctant Patrick Hillery agreed to become the Fianna Fail candidate for the presidency.

17.

Yet, one occurred in September 1979, when the international press corps, travelling to Ireland for the visit of Pope John Paul II, told their Irish colleagues that Europe was "awash" with rumours that Patrick Hillery had a mistress living with him in Aras an Uachtarain, that he and his wife were divorcing and he was considering resigning from the presidency.

18.

Once the Pope had left, Patrick Hillery held a press conference where he told a shocked nation that there was no mistress, no divorce and no resignation.

19.

Patrick Hillery defended his action by saying that it was important to kill off the story for the good of the presidency, rather than allow the rumour to circulate and be accepted as fact in the absence of a denial.

20.

In 2008, Historian John Walsh claimed that within Irish political circles, the source of the rumours about Patrick Hillery were widely believed to have been planted by the leader of Fianna Fail Charles Haughey, who was attempting to force Patrick Hillery to resign from office.

21.

Patrick Hillery hit the headlines when, on the advice of then Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, he declined Queen Elizabeth II's invitation to attend the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.

22.

Patrick Hillery regarded such pressure as gross misconduct, and ordered one of his aides de camp, Captain Anthony Barber, not to pass on any telephone calls from opposition figures.

23.

Patrick Hillery might have been motivated by a conflict between the English and Irish versions of the Constitution.

24.

Patrick Hillery confirmed that Haughey too had made phone calls.

25.

Patrick Hillery made these denials in an interview in The Irish Press and on Questions and Answers, an RTE 1 political show,.

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26.

The revelations, and the discovery that Patrick Hillery had stood up to pressure in 1982 from former cabinet colleagues, including his close friend Brian Lenihan, substantially increased Patrick Hillery's standing.

27.

Patrick Hillery's reputation rose further when opposition leaders under parliamentary privilege alleged that Haughey, who in January 1982, had been Leader of the Opposition, had not merely rung the President's Office but threatened to end the career of the army officer who took the call and who, on Hillery's explicit instructions, had refused to put through the call to the president.

28.

Patrick Hillery, it was revealed, had called in the Irish Army's Chief of Staff the following day and as Commander-in-Chief of the Army had ordered the Chief of Staff to ensure that no politician ever interfered with the career of the young army officer.

29.

Patrick Hillery was one of three holders of the office of President who did not face popular election for the office, the others being Douglas Hyde and Cearbhall O Dalaigh.

30.

Patrick Hillery left office in 1990, serving the maximum two terms, widely applauded for his integrity, honesty and devotion to duty.

31.

Patrick Hillery re-entered public life in 2002, during the second referendum on the Nice Treaty, when he urged a yes vote.

32.

Dr Patrick Hillery is regarded as a powerhouse for ideas, one of the few members of Fianna Fail who has new policies and is eager to implement them.

33.

Patrick Hillery died on 12 April 2008, in his Dublin home, following a short illness.

34.

Patrick Hillery's family agreed to a full state funeral for the former president.

35.

Patrick Hillery was buried at St Fintan's Cemetery, Sutton, Dublin.