Former Labour leader Michael O’Leary dies in France

Former Tánaiste and Labour Party leader Michael O'Leary has died in France.

The 70-year-old is believed to have drowned in a swimming pool yesterday evening.

Mr O'Leary succeeded Frank Cluskey as Labour leader when he lost his seat in the 1981 General Election.

He subsequently became Tánaiste in the Fine Gael-Labour coalition that was formed under Garret Fitzgerald.

That government collapsed a number of months later and O'Leary defected to Fine Gael.

He was also a barrister and spent the later years of his life as a District Court Judge, a position he only retired from last Monday.

Mr O'Leary will be best remembered as Minister for Labour in the 1970s, when European law on equal pay and rights for workers had to be transposed into Irish law.

Current Labour leader Pat Rabbitte has paid tribute to him today, describing him as a formidable politician with a constant commitment to the principle of public service.