John O'Donoghue (politician)

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Minister for Arts, Sport & Tourism
John O'Donoghue, TD
Preceded by	Jim McDaid
Born	28 May 1956 Caherciveen, County Kerry
Constituency	Kerry South
Political party	Fianna Fail

John O'Donoghue (Irish: Seán Ó Donnchú; born 28 May 1956 in Caherciveen, County Kerry) is a senior Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He is currently a Teachta Dála for Kerry South and Minister for Arts, Sport & Tourism. He has previously served as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

John O'Donoghue was born in Caherciveen, County Kerry in 1956. He was educated at Caherciveen Christian Brothers School, University College Cork and the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland, from where he holds a law degree. O'Donoghue established himself as a solicitor in his home town before becoming involved in politics. He contested the general elections of 1981, February 1982, and November 1982, but was unsuccessful on all three occasions. In 1985 he was elected to Kerry County Council, building up his local electoral power base, becoming Chairman in 1990, and serving in that capacity until 1991. O'Donoghue returned to local politics again in 1993, serving as a county councillor until 1997.

O'Donoghue was finally elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil TD at the 1987 general election. A supporter of the party leader, Charles Haughey, he remained on the backbenches until 1991 when he became Minister of State at the Department of Finance. In that position O'Donoghue had special responsibility for the Office of Public Works. In February 1992 Charles Haughey was replaced as party leader and Taoiseach by Albert Reynolds. Since O'Donoghue was a supporter of the former he lost his junior ministerial position and was forced to return to the backbenches.

In 1994 Bertie Ahern became leader of Fianna Fáil and Leader of the Opposition. When he named his front bench in early 1995 O'Donoghue was included as Opposition Spokesperson on Justice. In this capacity he constantly criticised the incumbent Minister for Justice, Nora Owen of Fine Gael. He demanded "zero tolerance" for criminals and campaigned for harsher sentencing and increased prison places. During this period in opposition O'Donoghue was also instrumental in the foundation of the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB), and the introduction of the Proceeds of Crime Act which enabled Irish authroities to freeze the assets of suspected criminals. The legislation has been replicated in many other countries since. In 1997 Fianna Fáil were back in power, and O'Donoghue joined the cabinet as Minister for Justice, Equality & Law Reform, one of the most senior government positions. His period as Minister had some high points, as O'Donoghue was heavily involved in the British-Irish negotiations which led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

In 2002 Fianna Fáil won a resounding victory in the general election. O'Donoghue, in what was seen as a demotion, was appointed Minister for Arts, Sport & Tourism. He has enjoyed his tenure in this position, a position commonly referred to as being the "Minister for Fun," and is generally seen as doing a good job, particularly by the tourism industry. O'Donoghue has also presided over an upturn in success for Irish sport, as well as the finalisation of details for the rebuilding of Lansdowne Road. In mid-2004 Ahern announced that he would be reshuffling his cabinet in September, prompting speculation over O'Donoghue's cabinet position. While initially he was mentioned as a contender for the positions of Foreign Minister or Agriculture Minister O'Donoghue retained his existing portfolio, a move welcomed by the industry as a whole.

[edit] Political career

Oireachtas
Preceded by Michael Moynihan (Labour Party)	Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála for Kerry South 1987–	Succeeded by Current Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Vincent Brady	Minister of State at the Department of Finance 1991–1992	Succeeded by Noel Treacy
Preceded by Nora Owen	Minister for Justice, Equality & Law Reform 1997–2002	Succeeded by Michael McDowell
Preceded by Jim McDaid	Minister for Arts, Sport & Tourism 2002 – present	Incumbent