Dara Calleary

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dara Calleary (Irish: Dara Mac Giolla Laoire; born 10 May 1973) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He is currently a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Mayo constituency. He was elected in the 2007 general election.

Calleary lives in Ballina and was educated at St Oliver Plunkett NS (The Quay), Ballina, St Muredachs College, Ballina and Trinity College, Dublin. He has been a member of the Fianna Fáil National Executive since 1997 and has served on party policy committees on Transport, Enterprise & Employment, Agriculture and Youth Affairs.

For the past 8 years he worked with Chambers Ireland, the largest business organisation in Ireland and he previously worked in a leading Irish bank.

He is a son of Seán Calleary who was a TD for Mayo East from 1973 to 1992 and the grandson of Phelim Calleary who was elected a Member of the 14th Dail for Mayo North in the 1952 by-election and served until retiring at the 1969 general election.

On 23 February 2008, Calleary was appointed chairman of Ógra Fianna Fáil by An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern at the National Youth Conference in Tuallamore, Co Offaly. He stated that his main goals in this position would be to focus on the EU Reform Treaty and the 2009 local elections.[1] He replaced Barry Andrews TD in the position. In 2007 Deputy Calleary chaired the first ever Ógra Fianna Fáil cumann meeting in Northern Ireland, that of Queens University Ógra Fianna Fáil.