Jimmy Deenihan TD

Jimmy Deenihan TD is the Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach and at the Department of Foreign Affairs with special responsibility for the Irish abroad and was appointed to this role on July 11, 2014. He was the Minister for Arts, Heritage & Gaeltacht Affairs from March 9, 2011 to July 11, 2014.

He was first elected as a TD for the Kerry North constituency in 1987 and has been re-elected at every General Election since. The constituency is now known as Kerry North/West Limerick.

Jimmy previously served as Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (1994-’97) with special responsibility for Rural Development, the LEADER programme, and monitoring the activities of An Bord Bia and the food industry.

He has occupied a number of Party roles and was previously a Taoiseach’s nominee to the Seanad and a member of Kerry County Council.

Jimmy won All-Ireland football medals with Kerry in 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980 and in 1981 the year he captained the team, Jimmy received a GAA All-Star Award.

Jimmy is married to Mary and they live in Listowel. As a former PE teacher, Jimmy is a lover of all sports, particularly GAA, hurling and rugby. He enjoys traditional Irish music, and is also a fan of American folk artists such as Kris Kristofferson and Jim Croce. Jimmy’s three top films are The Field, Ryan’s Daughter and The Quiet Man. His political hero is Daniel O’Connell, because Jimmy believes he proved that peaceful demonstrations are the most effective way of achieving political objectives.