Des Foley
Irish politician, hurler and Gaelic footballer (1940–1995
Des Foley
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Teachta Dála | |
In office
June 1969 – February 1973 |
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Constituency | Dublin County North |
In office
April 1965 – June 1969 |
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Constituency | Dublin County |
Personal details | |
Born |
(
1940-09-12
)
12 September 1940
North Strand , County Dublin, Ireland |
Died |
5 February 1995
(1995-02-05)
(aged
54)
Dublin , Ireland |
Political party | Fianna Fáil |
Spouse | Rita Nugent |
Education | St Joseph's, Fairview |
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Personal information | ||
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Sport | Dual player | |
Football Position: | Midfield | |
Hurling Position: | Midfield | |
Club(s) | ||
Years | Club | |
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St Vincents | |
Club titles | ||
Football | Hurling | |
Dublin titles | 1 | 4 |
Inter-county(ies) | ||
Years | County | |
1958–1969
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Dublin | |
Inter-county titles | ||
Football | Hurling | |
Leinster Titles | 5 | 1 |
All-Ireland Titles | 1 | 0 |
League titles | 1 | 0 |
All-Stars | 2 | 1 |
Desmond Foley (12 September 1940 – 5 February 1995) was an Irish Gaelic footballer and hurler of the 1950s and 1960s. He was also a politician and represented Fianna Fáil in Dáil Éireann . [1]
Sports
Desmond Foley was born into a farming family at Kinsealy , County Dublin in 1940. [2] As a young man he showed particular skill at Gaelic games , winning four Dublin County Senior Hurling Championships with the St Vincents GAA club , having earlier captained the school team of St Joseph's, Fairview which brought the All-Ireland Colleges football title to Dublin for the first time. Foley captained the Dublin minor football team which won the All-Ireland Final in 1958. In 1962 he became the only player in history to play in two provincial Railway Cup finals, in hurling and football , on the same day, winning medals in both codes for Leinster . He won further Railway Cup medals again in 1964 and 1965.
Foley was a prominent member of the Dublin county hurling team from 1958 until 1969, playing on the losing side in the 1961 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final . In 1963 he captained the Dublin county football team which defeated Galway to win the All-Ireland title. He won three All-Star awards, two for football and one for hurling, but never a senior All-Ireland hurling medal. He was a mid-fielder of the highest ranking, particularly noted for his outstanding sportsmanship. His brother Lar Foley was a team colleague, both in hurling and football, through most of his campaigns in the 1950s and 60s and who was also an All-Ireland medal winner for Gaelic football in 1958 and 1963.
Politics
Towards the end of his playing career, Foley became interested in politics and was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin County constituency at the 1965 general election , and in the Dublin County North constituency at the 1969 general election . [3] He resigned from the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party on 4 November 1971, in advance of a confidence motion in Jim Gibbons , whose role in the Arms Crisis he disagreed with. [4] He unsuccessfully contested the 1973 general election in Dublin County North as an Independent candidate. [5] [2]
References
- ↑ "Desmond Foley" . Oireachtas Members Database . Retrieved 16 October 2012 .
- 1 2 3 White, Lawrence William. "Foley, Desmond" . Dictionary of Irish Biography . Retrieved 25 January 2023 .
- ↑ "Des Foley" . ElectionsIreland.org . Retrieved 16 October 2012 .
- ↑ Glennon, Chris (5 November 1971). "Lynch defiant as vote nears". Irish Independent .
- ↑ "Return of the 'GAA deputies' ". Irish Independent . 2 March 1973.
Honorary titles | ||
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Preceded by |
Baby of the Dáil
1965–1969 |
Succeeded by |
Dublin – 1961 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship runners-up
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Dublin – 1963 All-Ireland Senior Football Champions (17th title)
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Teachtaí Dála
(TDs) for the
Dublin County
constituency
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Teachtaí Dála
(TDs) for the
Dublin County North
constituency
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