Michael Gleeson (politician)

{{Short description|Irish former Gaelic footballer and politician (born 1946)}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| image =

| office = Kerry County Councillor

| term_start = June 1999

| term_end = May 2021

| constituency = Killarney

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1946}}

| birth_place = Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality = Irish

| party = Kerry Independent Alliance

| otherparty = Labour Party {{small|(until 1992)}}

| education =

| alma_mater =

| spouse =

| children =

|}}

{{Infobox Gaelic Athletic Association player

| code= Football

| sport = Gaelic football

| image =

| name = Michael Gleeson

| fullname =

| feet = 5

| inches = 11

| occupation =

| county = Kerry

| province = Munster

| clubs = Spa

| cposition =

| clyears = 1960s–1980s

| clapps(points) =

| clcounty = 3

| clprovince= 1

| clallireland = 1

| counties = Kerry

| icposition = Right corner-forward

| icyears = 1969–1972

| icapps(points) = 15 (4-12)

| icprovince = 3

| icallireland = 2

| nfl = 2

| allstars = 0

| clupdate =

| icupdate =

}}

Michael Gleeson (born 1946 in Killarney, County Kerry) is an Irish former politician and sportsperson.

Sporting career

He played Gaelic football with his local club Spa and was a member of the Kerry senior inter-county team from 1969 until 1972.{{cite web|url=http://www.hoganstand.com/Kerry/Profile.aspx|title=Kerry GAA profile|publisher=www.hoganstand.com|access-date=9 April 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100623043830/http://www.hoganstand.com/Kerry/Profile.aspx|archivedate=23 June 2010}} He was also a member of the Kerry junior team and won an All-Ireland Junior Football Championship medal in 1967.{{fact|date=May 2021}}

He won three Kerry Senior Football Championships, a Munster Senior Club Football Championship and an All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship with East Kerry. With Spa he won seven East Kerry Senior Football Championship titles and a County Intermediate Football Championship. During his college days in Dublin he won a Dublin Under 21 Football Championship with Erins Hope in 1966. He later played with UCD and won a Sigerson Cup with them.{{fact|date=May 2021}}

Political career

He was a Killarney town councillor from 1991 to 2014; and a Kerry County Councillor from 1983 to 1991 representing the Labour Party; and from 1999 to 2021 as part of the Kerry Independent Alliance. He was an unsuccessful candidate at the 2011 general election.{{cite web|url=http://www.electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=3015|title=Michael Gleeson|work=ElectionsIreland.org|access-date=8 January 2013}} He has also been Mayor of Killarney. He retired from politics in May 2021 and was replaced on the council by his nephew John O'Donoghue.{{cite web|url=https://www.radiokerry.ie/news/cllr-john-odonoghue-formally-co-opted-onto-kerry-county-council-240769|title=Cllr John O'Donoghue formally co-opted onto Kerry County Council|work=Radio Kerry|date=21 June 2021|access-date=14 January 2023}}