Michael Bell (Irish politician)
{{Short description|Irish Labour Party politician (1936–2011)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image =
| office = Teachta Dála
| term_start = November 1982
| term_end = May 2002
| constituency = Louth
| birth_date = {{birth date|1936|10|1|df=y}}
| birth_place = County Louth, Ireland
| death_date = {{death date and age|2011|5|20|1936|10|1|df=y}}
| death_place = County Louth, Ireland
| party = Labour Party
| allegiance = Ireland
| branch = 25px Army Reserve
| serviceyears = 1954–1983
| rank = 15px Quartermaster
}}
Michael Bell (1 October 1936 – 20 May 2011) was an Irish Labour Party politician.{{cite web|url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Michael-Bell.D.1982-12-14/|title=Michael Bell|work=Oireachtas Members Database|access-date=28 October 2011|archive-date=2018-11-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108190423/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Michael-Bell.D.1982-12-14|url-status=live}} Bell was first elected to Dáil Éireann as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Louth constituency at the November 1982 general election and retained his seat until losing it at the 2002 general election.{{cite web|url=http://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=3384|title=Michael Bell|work=ElectionsIreland.org|access-date=28 October 2011|archive-date=28 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928082742/https://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=3384|url-status=live}} He was a trade union official before entering politics. He served on Drogheda Corporation and Louth County Council and was mayor of Drogheda between 1983 and 1984. He died in May 2011.{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0520/breaking52.html|title=Ex-Labour TD Michael Bell dies|work=The Irish Times|date=20 May 2011|access-date=20 May 2011|archive-date=21 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521163620/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0520/breaking52.html|url-status=live}}
His wife, Betty, served on Louth County Council with him from 1991-99 having been also elected for the party in the Drogheda area. Their nephew, Paul, twice served as Cathaoirleach of Louth County Council and also as Mayor of Drogheda and is currently a member of the Labour Court.
Bell served with the Local Defence Force (FCÁ) for 29 years, in which he completed a full-time stint on the Irish border between 1969 and 1970 during The Troubles as a senior NCO and had overseen the care of 1,100 Northern Irish refugees at Gormanston Camp in County Meath.{{cite news|last1=Pollak|first1=Andy|title=Bell sues for deafness he blames on FCA service|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/bell-sues-for-deafness-he-blames-on-fca-service-1.129089|access-date=28 April 2017|publisher=The Irish Times|date=28 January 1998}}{{cite news|last1=Murphy|first1=Hubert|title=Old friends gather|url=http://www.independent.ie/regionals/droghedaindependent/news/old-friends-gather-27156757.html|access-date=28 April 2017|publisher=Drogheda Independent|date=25 May 2011}}
It was as a result of his years of service on the Border that prompted Bell to consider suing the state for deafness to his ears. This prompted considerable embarrassment within the Labour Party at the time of his suit against the Department of Defence as he was their Defence Spokesperson and he was asked to withdraw his case having threatened publicly to rejoin Fianna Fáil at the time. It remains unclear if South Louth Fianna Fáil would have re-admitted the Deputy.{{cite news |last1=McKenna |first1=Gene |date=3 October 1998 |title=Bell refuses to rule out return to FF |url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/bell-refuses-to-rule-out-return-to-ff/26170403.html |access-date=22 January 2025 |work=Irish Independent |publisher=}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Michael}}
{{Louth (Dáil constituency)/TDs}}
Category:Labour Party (Ireland) TDs
Category:Members of Louth County Council
Category:Members of the 24th Dáil
Category:Members of the 25th Dáil
Category:Members of the 26th Dáil
Category:Members of the 27th Dáil
Category:Members of the 28th Dáil
Category:Politicians from County Louth