Patrick Lalor

For the 19th-century politician from Laois, see Patrick "Patt" Lalor.

Patrick Lalor
Member of the European Parliament
In office June 1979 – June 1994
Constituency	Leinster
Minister of State/Parliamentary Secretary
1977–1979	Government Chief Whip
1977–1979	Defence
Minister for Industry and Commerce
In office 9 May 1970 – 14 March 1973
Taoiseach	Jack Lynch
Preceded by	George Colley
Succeeded by	Justin Keating
Minister for Posts and Telegraphs
In office 2 July 1969 – 9 May 1970
Taoiseach	Jack Lynch
Preceded by	Erskine H. Childers
Succeeded by	Gerry Collins
Parliamentary Secretary
1966–1969	Posts and Telegraphs
1966–1969	Transport and Power
1965–1966	Agriculture
Teachta Dála
In office June 1961 – June 1981
Constituency	Laois–Offaly
Personal details
Born	(1926-07-21)21 July 1926 Portlaois, County Laois, Ireland
Died	29 July 2016(2016-07-29) (aged 90) Abbeyleix, County Laois, Ireland
Political party	Fianna Fáil
Spouse	Myra Lalor
Children	4

Patrick Joseph Lalor (21 July 1926 – 29 July 2016) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and former hurling player for Laois. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for Laois–Offaly between 1961 and 1981, and a government minister on two separate occasions during the 19th Dáil. He later represented Leinster in the European Parliament from 1979 to 1994.

Hurling career

Lalor was a member of the Laois team that won the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship in 1949. The team went on to compete in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship final but lost to Tipperary. Later that year he helped his club Abbeyleix to win the Laois Senior Hurling Championship. Between 1953 and 1956, Lalor was county secretary of Laois GAA.

He played football and hurling for his club and county for many years and is generally regarded as one of the most skillful hurlers to have pulled Laois jersey. This was evidenced by his selection in 1999 on the Laois Hurling Team of the Millennium.

Lalor played 70 times for Laois senior hurlers, scoring 199 points in his time with the senior team. At the time of his retirement, he was the all-time top scorer for the county and was top of the scoring charts for over 20 years. He also played five times for the senior footballers, scoring 13 points.

Political career

Lalor was elected to Dáil Éireann on his first attempt at the 1961 general election as a Fianna Fáil TD for Laois–Offaly in the 17th Dáil. In 1965, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture. The following year, Lalor became Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Transport and Power and Posts and Telegraphs. Following the 1969 election, Lalor joined the cabinet of Jack Lynch as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs. In the cabinet reshuffle that took place following the Arms Crisis in 1970, he took over the Industry and Commerce portfolio, serving in that position until the 1973 general election, when a Fine Gael–Labour Party coalition took power.

Fianna Fáil was re-elected in a landslide victory at the 1977 general election and Lalor became Government Chief Whip and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence. In 1979, he was elected to the European Parliament for the Leinster constituency and did not stand for a fifth re-election in the 1981 general election. He was re-elected to the European Parliament in 1984 and 1989, before retiring from politics in 1994. During his time as a member of the European Parliament, he was vice-chair of the parliamentary grouping the European Progressive Democrats and its successor the European Democratic Alliance. He was also a Vice-President of the European Parliament from 1982 to 1987.

Personal life

Lalor died on 29 July 2016 at the age of 90. He was survived by his four children. Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin paid tribute to Lalor saying he "had a very distinguished career and represented the people of Laois-Offaly with great pride."

External links

• Personal profile of Patrick Lalor in the European Parliament's database of members