Eamon Gilmore

Eamon Gilmore TD
Leader of the Labour Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 September 2007
Preceded by	Pat Rabbitte
Teachta Dála
Incumbent
Assumed office June 1989
Constituency	Dún Laoghaire
Personal details
Born	(1955-04-24) 24 April 1955 Caltra, County Galway
Nationality	Irish
Political party	Labour Party
Other political affiliations	Workers' Party of Ireland (1975–1992) Democratic Left (1992–1999)
Spouse	Carol Hanney
Children	3
Alma mater	University College Galway
Website	Official website

Eamon Gilmore (born 24 April 1955) is an Irish Labour Party politician and the current Leader of the Labour Party. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dún Laoghaire constituency since 1989, first with the Workers' Party of Ireland, and later with the Democratic Left, until the latter party merged with Labour. He served as a Minister of State at the Department for the Marine from 1994 until 1997 as part of the "Rainbow Coalition" during the Government of the 27th Dáil.

Born in County Galway, Gilmore graduated from University College Galway, becoming President of the Union of Students in Ireland, and later a trade union organiser, before entering local politics. As a Democratic Left TD, he was central in negotiating that party's merge with Labour. He was beaten by fellow former Democratic Left TD, Pat Rabbitte, in Labour's 2002 leadership election, and was instead appointed as the party's Environment, Housing and Local Government spokesperson. He eventually succeeded Rabbitte, being elected unopposed to the leadership in 2007.

Early life and career

Gilmore was born in Caltra, County Galway in 1955 into a small farming family. When he was 14 months old his father died leaving his mother to run the mixed farm and raise Gilmore and his younger brother John.

Gilmore’s primary education was received in Caltra in a small two teacher national school where he was taught through the medium of Irish. He is a fluent Irish speaker to this day. Following his sixth-year state primary exam, he qualified for a scholarship from Galway County Council which enabled him to attend secondary school. He entered Garbally College, Ballinasloe as a boarder in 1965.

Availing of a third-level grant to fund his degree he went on to study psychology at University College Galway (UCG). He was an active member of the Drama Society in university where his contemporaries were the theatre director Garry Hynes and actor Marie Mullen who both went on to found the Druid Theatre Company. He also took part in the university debating scene mainly through the Literary and Debating Society.

A threat from the then cash strapped Psychology Department to scrap the psychology course altogether and transfer the students to University College Dublin propelled Gilmore towards student activism.

He was elected class representative and later at the age of 18 served as President of UCG Students' Union from July 1974 to June 1975. In 1975, towards the end of his term of office as President of the Student Union, he joined the UCG Republican Club, which was affiliated to Official Sinn Féin, subsequently Sinn Féin the Workers’ Party and later re-named the Workers' Party. In recent years he was accused of being evasive on the subject and trying to play down that he had joined the Official Republican Movement, stating that the party was in the process of becoming the Workers' Party at that time, I can't recall exactly the dates.

From 1976 until 1978 he served as President of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI). Together with Charles Clarke (former British Home Secretary) who was President of the National Union of Students in Britain, he worked within a structure which served to unify the student’s movement in Northern Ireland during the troubles. Other achievements during his tenure included increasing student grants and securing the right for students to work during the summer months.

Prior to establishing a career in politics, Gilmore served as a trade union organiser. He joined the Irish Transport & General Workers’ Union (now SIPTU) in 1978 and, after brief spells in Dublin No. 4 (Hotels & Catering) and Dublin No. 14 (Engineering) Branches, was rapidly promoted to become Acting Secretary of the Galway Branch, 1978–1979, Secretary of Tralee Branch, 1979–1981, and of the Professional & Managerial Staffs Branch, 1981–1989. He was heavily involved in organising tax protests in Galway and resisting redundancies and closures in Kerry.

Gilmore has described the driving factors which has informed his working life whether as a trade union officer or public representative. “I like advocating. I love to share in the joy people get out of cracking it, getting the job or getting some right they should have. I get huge satisfaction out of working for improvements and seeing those come through”.

Personal life

While at university he met his wife Carol. The couple who have lived in Shankill, Dublin since 1979 have two sons and one daughter. His brother John is a television producer in Washington DC.

Outside of politics he prefers to spend his time cooking, reading and attending sports matches, especially those featuring Galway’s Senior Hurling and Football teams.

A book, Leading Lights: People Who've Inspired Me, written by Gilmore was published by Liberties Press in November 2010.

Gilmore has said in the past that he is an atheist. When questioned on the Today with Pat Kenny programme if Ireland was ready for an atheist Taoiseach, he said he believed Ireland was a very tolerant country where the rights and beliefs of individuals were respected.

Political career

Gilmore was elected to Dún Laoghaire Borough Council and also to Dublin County Council on 22 June 1985. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1989 general election as a member of the Workers' Party for the constituency of Dún Laoghaire, and has been re-elected at every subsequent general election.

In 1992 he joined with Proinsias De Rossa and five other Workers' Party TDs to create a new political party Democratic Left (originally known as New Agenda).

In the 'Rainbow Coalition', between 1994 and 1997, Gilmore served as Minister of State at the Department of the Marine where he is credited for overseeing major reform in port ownership, investment in port development, banning nuclear vessels from Irish seas and restricting dumping at sea.

With Labour's Brendan Howlin, Gilmore was a central figure in the negotiations that led to the merger of Democratic Left with the Labour Party in 1999 under the Leadership of Ruairí Quinn.

After Quinn's resignation in 2002, Gilmore unsuccessfully contested the Leadership won by former student union and political colleague Pat Rabbitte.

From 2002 to 2007 he sat on the Labour Party front bench as Environment, Housing and Local Government Spokesperson.

Labour Party leader

Mr. Gilmore and Michael D. Higgins on the campaign trail in Galway City, 2008.

Following Pat Rabbitte's resignation as party leader in August 2007, Gilmore announced his candidacy for the leadership. He received support from senior figures such as Michael D. Higgins, Ruairi Quinn, Willie Penrose, Liz McManus and Emmet Stagg, and did not have to contest a ballot, being formally confirmed as leader on 6 September after being the only declared candidate. He is the tenth leader of the Labour Party.

From early on in his Leadership Gilmore insisted that Labour should aspire to lead the next Government and set about building Labour as a third option for voters.

In September 2009 at the Labour Parliamentary Party Meeting in Waterford the Labour leader, reiterating what he had said in earlier interviews, categorically ruled out a coalition with Fianna Fáil when a Government is formed after the next General Election.

At his Leader’s address to the 2010 Labour Party Conference (17 April 2010) Gilmore reinforced his vision that the Party should lead the way in building ‘One Ireland’. One ireland is based on the idea that by working together we can get the country back on track and restore our economy, our prosperity and our society. In this speech he named the Labour Party’s policy priorities as being Jobs, Reform and Fairness. He also stated his determination that at the coming general election the Labour Party will run enough candidates, to enable the Irish people to make Labour the largest party in the next Dáil and to lead the next Government .

In July 2010 Gilmore again ruled out a coalition between his party and Fianna Fáil after the next general election even if he were in a position to become taoiseach. Gilmore has also predicted his party is well-positioned to win at least a seat in each of the country's 43 constituencies and two in some constituencies in Dublin, Cork, other urban areas and commuter-belt counties. In all, he said the party has the potential to win 50 seats or more.

In December 2010, it was announced that Senator Ivana Bacik will be Gilmore's running mate for the forthcoming general election in the Dun Laoghaire constituency.

In February 2011 Gilmore said the Government's decision to postpone injecting a further €10 billion into the banks until after the election shows the bailout deal must be renegotiated. Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan postponed injecting a further €10 billion into the banks until after the election – missing a key deadline under the EU-IMF bailout. "I find it quite amazing that a Fianna Fáil government, that tells us that we can’t renegotiate the IMF deal, can unilaterally take one portion of the deal and decide they are going to postpone implementing it because there happens to be an election," he said.

2009 Local and European elections

At the local elections of 5 June 2009, the Labour Party added to its total of council seats, with 132 seats won (+31) and by July 2010 had gained an additional six seats from councillors joining the party since the election. On Dublin City Council, the party was again the largest party, but now with more seats than the two other main parties combined.

At the 2009 European Parliament election held on the same day, the Labour Party increased its number of seats from 1 to 3, retaining the seat of Proinsias De Rossa in the Dublin constituency, while gaining seats in the East constituency with Nessa Childers, and in the South constituency with Alan Kelly.

Kilmore School controversy

The Irish Independent reported in November 2010 that Gilmore's wife had profited from the sale two and a half acre unzoned site that has the benefit of planning permission for a school obtained by a third party.

In an RTE Radio One interview Gilmore denied that the media coverage surrounding the sale by his wife of land for a Galway school was embarrassing for him. “This is land Carol inherited from her late mother. She was approached by the board of management of the school to make the site available. It was publicly advertised by the OPW and independently valued," he said

There is no allegation of wrong doing by Gilmore or his wife. TDs do not have to declare spouses' interests as only sitting offices holders such as ministers have to declare their spouse interests. A spokesperson for the Department of Education is quoted in the Irish Times as having said “The department has no reason to consider there was anything abnormal about the transaction concerned.”

External links

• Eamon Gilmore's official website
• Eamon Gilmore's page on the Labour Party website