Barry Andrews (Irish politician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other people named Barry Andrews, see Barry Andrews

Minister of State for Children
Barry Andrews TD
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 May 2008
Taoiseach	Brian Cowen
Preceded by	Brendan Smith

Born	16 May 1967 (1967-05-16) (age 41) Dublin, Ireland
Political party	Fianna Fáil

Barry Andrews (Irish: Barra Mac Andriú;^{[citation needed]} born 16 May 1967) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was appointed Minister of State for Children on 7 May 2008. Andrews is a Teachta Dála (TD) for the constituency of Dún Laoghaire.

He was born in Dublin and was educated at Blackrock College and University College Dublin, where he received a Masters Degree in Modern History. He worked as a secondary school teacher from 1991 until 1997, when he entered King's Inns and qualified as a barrister. Andrews was first elected to public office in June 1999, when he was elected to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. He was elected to Dáil Éireann at the 2002 general election.

Andrews comes from a family with strong political connections. His grandfather, Todd Andrews fought in the War of Independence and became a founder-member of Fianna Fáil, while his grandmother, Mary Coyle, was a member of Cumann na mBan.

Andrews's father, David Andrews served as a TD from 1965 to 2002 and is a former Foreign Minister, while his uncle, Niall Andrews, was a former Fianna Fáil TD and MEP and his cousin Chris Andrews (son of Niall Andrews), is also a TD. His brother David is a popular street comedian.

In June 2006, Andrews led a group of Fianna Fáil backbenchers in an attempt to establish a powerful backbench committee to influence Government Policy. In the 2007 general election, Andrews retained his seat in Dún Laoghaire with 8,587 votes.

Oireachtas
Preceded by David Andrews (Fianna Fáil)	Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála for Dún Laoghaire 2002–present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Brendan Smith	Minister of State for Children 2008–present	Incumbent