Ruairí Brugha

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Ruairí Brugha (pronounced [ˈɾˠuərʲiː bˠɾˠuː]; February 15, 1917 – January 31, 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. [1]

He was the son of Cathal Brugha, Minister for Defence in the first Dáil who was killed in 1922 during the Irish Civil War and was married to Máire MacSwiney, the only child of Lord Mayor of Cork Terence MacSwiney who died while on hunger strike in 1920.

Following a number of attempts Ruairi was elected to Dáil Éireann in the 1973 General Election, as TD for the constituency of Dublin County South. He lost his Dáil seat at the 1977 General Election but in that year was appointed to the European Parliament as a member of the first Irish parliamentary delegation. In the 1980s, he was a member of Seanad Éireann. He was also active in the European Movement Ireland into his late eighties, serving as an honorary president of the organisation.

He died in Dublin on January 31, 2006, at the age of 88. On his death the Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said Ruairi Brugha was "a man of firm convictions who was passionate about politics and had a deep patriotic concern for the welfare of this country". He is survived by his wife and four children; Deirdre, Cathal, Traolach and Ruairi.