Dan Desmond
{{Short description|Irish Labour Party politician (1913–1964)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Dan Desmond
| image =
| caption =
| office = Teachta Dála
| term_start = October 1961
| term_end = 9 December 1964
| constituency = Cork Mid
| term_start1 = February 1948
| term_end1 = October 1961
| constituency1 = Cork South
| party = Labour Party
| otherparty = Fianna Fáil
| birth_date = {{birth date|1913|10|03|df=y}}
| birth_place = Crosshaven, County Cork, Ireland
| death_date = {{death date and age|1964|12|9|1913|10|03|df=y}}
| death_place = Cork, Ireland
| spouse = {{marriage|Eileen Harrington|1956}}
| children = 2
| education = Municipal College of Commerce, Cork
}}
Daniel Desmond (3 October 1913 – 9 December 1964) was an Irish Labour Party politician and Teachta Dála (TD) for seventeen years.{{cite web|url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Daniel-Desmond.D.1948-02-18/|title=Daniel Desmond|work=Oireachtas Members Database|accessdate=30 December 2011}}
Early life
Desmond was born on 3 October 1913 in Crosshaven, County Cork, the second child of two sons and four daughters of Michael Desmond, carpenter, and his wife, Hanora White, both from County Cork. He was educated at the local national school and the Municipal College of Commerce, Cork.
According to historian John Horgan, he was Cork based trade unionist, and was a founder member of Fianna Fáil but broke from the party when they introduced the Wages Standstill Order in 1939. He later joined the Labour Party.{{Cite book|last=Horgan|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_xXsCQAAQBAJ&dq=dan+desmond+labour&pg=PT265|title=Sean Lemass: The Enigmatic Patriot: The Definitive Biography of Ireland's Great Modernising Taoiseach|date=1997-10-01|publisher=Gill & Macmillan Ltd|isbn=978-0-7171-6816-3|language=en}} However, according to the Dictionary of Irish Biography, while still at school he joined the local branch of the Labour Party and became its secretary at the age of 16. A builder's clerk, he became secretary of the Federation of Rural Workers in 1947 and was organiser at county level.
Political career
Desmond first stood for election to Dáil Éireann at the 1944 general election in the Cork South-East constituency, where he was defeated, winning 5.4% of the first-preference votes. However, he was successful on his next time as a candidate: at the 1948 general election he was the first candidate to be elected in the new 3-seat Cork South constituency.{{cite web|url=http://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=2148|title=Dan Desmond|work=ElectionsIreland.org|accessdate=30 December 2011}}
He took his seat in the 13th Dáil, and was re-elected at the 1951 general election and again in the 1954 and 1957 general elections, topping the poll again in 1951 and 1954. After further boundary changes, he was returned at the 1961 general election for the new 4-seat Cork Mid constituency.{{Cite book|last=Boyle|first=Dan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xXUsDwAAQBAJ&dq=dan+desmond+labour&pg=PT145|title=Making up the Numbers: Smaller Parties and Independents in Irish Politics|date=2017-11-27|publisher=History Press|isbn=978-0-7509-8534-5|language=en}}
He was the Labour Party's chief spokesman on local government, and also had strong views on social issues in parliament, in particular housing, health and education. He was principally responsible for the passing of the Local Government (Superannuation) Act 1956, providing a pension scheme for road workers. His abiding interest was the welfare of rural workers and the rural community generally. He was parliamentary leader of his party during the Second Inter-Party Government (1954–1957) and he later became deputy leader.
A member of Cork County Council from 1945 until his death, he served on many committees such as the vocational educational committee, Cork housing and sanitary services, Cork health authority (health board) and the assistance board. Despite ill health, he participated strongly and at great length in important Dáil debates, and continued his constituency duties.
Family
He married Eileen Harrington, a civil servant, in 1956, and they had two daughters.{{cite web|url=https://www.dib.ie/biography/desmond-daniel-a2541|title=Daniel Desmond|work=Dictionary of Irish Biography|last=Cronin|first=Maurice|date=October 2011|access-date=8 December 2022}} Desmond died from a cardiac infarction caused by Tuberculosis on 9 December 1964 at St Stephen's Hospital, Cork. The by-election for his seat in the 17th Dáil was won on 10 March 1965 by his widow Eileen Desmond, who sat in the Oireachtas for 22 years.{{Cite book|last=Puirséil|first=Niamh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nk6IAAAAMAAJ&q=dan+desmond+labour|title=The Irish Labour Party, 1922-73|date=2007|publisher=University College Dublin Press|isbn=978-1-904558-67-5|language=en}}{{Cite book|last=Drennan|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AuD4AwAAQBAJ&dq=dan+desmond+labour&pg=PT75|title=50 Dáil Debates that Shaped the Nation: Standing by the Republic|date=2012-10-05|publisher=Gill & Macmillan Ltd|isbn=978-0-7171-5289-6|language=en}}{{Cite book|last=Gallagher|first=Michael|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H6WIAAAAMAAJ&q=dan+desmond+labour|title=The Irish Labour Party in Transition, 1957-82|date=1982|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0-7190-0866-5|language=en}}
His daughter, Paula Desmond, was a member of Cork County Council from 1985 to 2014. In 1996, as chairperson of Cork County Council, she opened a newly constructed bridge at Belgooly, County Cork, named after her father. Two housing estates in Carrigaline and Passage West were also named in his honour.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Cork South (Dáil constituency)/TDs}}
{{Cork Mid (Dáil constituency)/TDs}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desmond, Dan}}
Category:Labour Party (Ireland) TDs
Category:Members of the 13th Dáil
Category:Members of the 14th Dáil
Category:Members of the 15th Dáil
Category:Members of the 16th Dáil
Category:Members of the 17th Dáil
Category:Politicians from County Cork