34 Facts About Stephen Coughlan

Stephen Coughlan was an Irish Labour Party politician who served for sixteen years as Teachta Dala for the Limerick East constituency.

Politically and socially conservative, Stephen Coughlan was frequently at odds with the rest of the Labour party, while his "colourful" behaviour often drew national attention.

Stephen Coughlan educated at the local Presentation Sisters' school before later boarding at Blackrock College, Dublin.

Stephen Coughlan moved to Tralee in County Kerry in 1928 to become an insurance clerk.

Stephen Coughlan claimed that during his time in the IRA he was involved in an unsuccessful assassination attempt upon Eoin O'Duffy, leader of the Blueshirts, with whom the IRA was engaged in a bitter feud with around 1933.

In December 1944, Charlie Kerins of Tralee, with whom Stephen Coughlan had developed a friendship, was executed for his role as a Chief of Staff of the IRA.

Stephen Coughlan's death prompted Coughlan to turn towards constitutional politics.

Stephen Coughlan became chairman of Clann na Poblachta and in 1951 became represented the party when he became a member of Limerick Corporation.

Stephen Coughlan stood for election as a Clann na Poblachta candidate at the 1954 general election, when he won the second-highest number of first-preference votes, but in later counts missed out on a seat by a margin of just five votes.

Stephen Coughlan stood again for Clann na Poblachta at the 1957 general election, but his vote had fallen significantly and he was again unsuccessful.

Stephen Coughlan was elected as a Labour candidate at the 1961 general election, taking his seat in the 17th Dail.

In doing so Stephen Coughlan beat out former Clann party member, veteran campaigner and stalwart of Limerick politics Ted Russell.

In 1963, Stephen Coughlan helped bring former Clann na Poblachta comrade Noel Browne into the Labour party, an action he supposedly regretted the rest of his life.

Once he broke through Stephen Coughlan was noted, even by his critics, as a fiercely active politician in tune with his constituents.

When Kemmy's group organised a press conference to announce some plans they had and to push for more members, Stephen Coughlan arrived at the press meeting flanked by a number of former Clann na Poblachta members, barred the doors to journalists, seized all printed materials and effectively shut the conference down.

Stephen Coughlan attempted to have Kemmy expelled but didn't have enough votes to carry the motion.

One anecdote recalls that in 1968, upon learning a Limerick mother was due to give birth to triplets, Stephen Coughlan rushed over to the hospital to be there.

Stephen Coughlan had his picture taken with them before then later in the Dail demanding that state benefits for triplets be increased.

Fellow members of the Dail accused Stephen Coughlan of being drunk as well as out of order before he was escorted away by Dail ushers.

In 1969 Stephen Coughlan was still a TD when he became Mayor of Limerick for a second time, and it was this period that was marked by some of the most high-profile controversies of Stephen Coughlan's career.

Stephen Coughlan was not happy with the new direction of the party nor these candidates.

Stephen Coughlan took a similar line at first; in December 1969 he declared he would not meet with the South African team, but stated that he feared "revolutionary communist groups" would use the boycott as an excuse to "stir up trouble".

Stephen Coughlan said that in relation to the boycott, some of his colleagues in Labour had "gone haywire".

When Barry Desmond TD announced that Labour as a party would back the boycott, Stephen Coughlan was furious and declared "the damn cheek for this jumped up overnight politician to come to us in Limerick to tell us how to act".

Stephen Coughlan became a letter campaign asking Limerick business not to sell radical literature.

Stephen Coughlan began touring Limerick schools to lecture students on "the red menace".

At one school, Crescent College, Stephen Coughlan directly accused one student of being a communist and demanded they be expelled.

Stephen Coughlan accused his former running mate and fellow Labour member Tony Pratschke, a teacher at the school, of being a communist and called for him to be sacked.

Stephen Coughlan defended the priest behind the boycott, stating "Fr Creagh, in a most courageous way, declared war on the Jews of Collooney Street" who had "been bleeding the working people of Limerick dry 70 years before".

Stephen Coughlan tried to clarify that he "only" meant the Jews in the area who were exploiting money lending practices.

The early 70s period had left Stephen Coughlan a diminishing star in Limerick politics.

Lipper was quickly readmitted back into Labour following the election as the Labour party itself saw that Stephen Coughlan was done for.

Stephen Coughlan considered Sean MacBride a lifelong friend, and made him Godfather to his daughter Nellie.

Stephen Coughlan died at the Regional Hospital, Limerick, after a long illness, 20 December 1994.