Jim Kemmy

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Jim Kemmy (1936 – September 25, 1997) was an Irish socialist politician from Limerick, who started his political career in the Labour Party. He later left Labour, was elected as an independent TD and founded the Democratic Socialist Party, which merged with Labour in the 1990s.

A former stonemason who lived in the Garryowen area of the city, Kemmy worked for many years as bricklayer for Limerick City Council. In 1963, Kemmy joined the Labour Party and worked as a trade unionist. He was a member of the Party's National Administrative Council, and its Director of Elections in 1969.[1]

He resigned from the party in 1972 because of conflict with local TD Stephen Coughlan. Taking advantage of a change in the law which removed the ban on council employees standing for election as councillors, he was elected to Limerick City Council in 1974. He had pledged not to wear the formal robes of a councillor, saying that "While some councillors act like clowns, there is no need to dress like them." In 1975 he founded the Limerick Family Planning Clinic. At the time, it was illegal to sell condoms in Ireland and the clinic was condemned by the Catholic Church.

Kemmy stood unsuccessfully as an independent candidate for Dáil Éireann at the Limerick East constituency at the 1977 general election. His second attempt, at the 1981 general election, was successful, and he was elected to the 22nd Dáil. He was returned to his seat in the general election of February 1982, but his opposition to the anti-abortion amendment to the Constitution had led to sustained attacks from the Catholic Church, and a number of issues caused friction with the Limerick Labour Party. In the November general election of the same year, Kemmy lost his seat to Labour's Frank Prendergast.

He returned to Dáil Éireann at the 1987 general election and was re-elected again at the 1989 election. In 1990, his Democratic Socialist Party merged with the Labour Party, and Kemmy was re-elected as a Labour TD at the 1992 general election and again at the 1997 election. After the merger, Kemmy was elected vice-chairman of the Labour Party in 1991 and chairman in 1993. He was twice elected as Mayor of Limerick, in 1991–1992 and again in 1995–1996.

Kemmy died on 25th September 1997, following a short illness. The new College of Business in the University of Limerick has been named in his memory as the Jim Kemmy Business School.