Looking back on a colourful career

WILLIE O’DEA, recognised as one of the biggest Fianna Fáil vote catchers in his bailiwick, was born in Limerick in 1952.

Educated at the Patrician Brothers College in Ballyfin, Co Laois, and University College Dublin, it has been said of him that he would canvass even on Christmas Day.

He studied law in college and qualified as a barrister at King’s Inns, Dublin. He also has an accountancy qualification from the Institute of Certified Accountants.

O’Dea worked as a barrister and an accountant and lecturer in University College Dublin and in the University of Limerick, before throwing himself full-time into politics.

When he first entered politics he laid down an early marker and went against his own party by opposing the closure of Barrington’s Hospital in Limerick city.

On matters of Government policy he has been known, on matters relating to Limerick, to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.

Ten years ago, for instance, he supported the Government on taxi deregulation, but back in Limerick he encouraged taxi drivers there to resist the Government policy.

In 1985, O’Dea became the only Fianna Fáil TD in the five-seat Limerick East constituency. He failed to secure a ministry under Charles Haughey.

In 1992, when Albert Reynolds succeeded Charles Haughey as Fianna Fáil leader, a cabinet reshuffle saw O’Dea appointed as junior minister in the Department of Justice.

Following the collapse of the Fianna Fáil-Labour Party coalition in 1994, O’Dea found himself on the opposition benches.

After the 1997 general election Fianna Fáil returned to Government and O’Dea was appointed a junior minister in the Department of Education and Science.

Following the 2002 general election, O’Dea became a junior minister in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

In a cabinet reshuffle in September 2004, O’Dea became Minister for Defence.

In November 2005, O’Dea sparked controversy when he was photographed during a media event at the Curragh Camp pointing an automatic pistol at the camera rather than his foot. He was highly critical of the media for using the ‘shot’.

“There were a lot of photographers around, they took literally dozens if not hundreds of photographs as I looked at various weapons and various pieces of equipment... Out of all the photographs taken, this was the one they used.”

In 2007, there were calls for his resignation when he openly spoke against Government policy to keep its nose out of Aer Lingus’s decision to withdraw from Shannon.

Around the same time, he was involved in a widely publicised pub row over the Shannon issue.

Responding to claims that he had been truculent and called one man “a p***k” in the course of the exchange, O’Dea said: “What happened here was that I listened to people, I tried to explain my position and I was shouted down and at the end, I will admit, I was dismissive and said ‘sod off’ or words to that effect and I walked away.”