Michael Yeats
Michael Yeats | |
---|---|
Cathaoirleach of Seanad Éireann | |
In office 5 November 1969 – 3 January 1973 | |
Preceded by | Liam Ó Buachalla |
Succeeded by | Micheál Cranitch |
Senator | |
In office 27 October 1977 – 12 March 1980 | |
Constituency | Nominated by the Taoiseach |
In office 5 November 1969 – 27 October 1977 | |
Constituency | Cultural and Educational Panel |
In office 23 June 1965 – 5 November 1969 | |
Constituency | Nominated by the Taoiseach |
In office 14 December 1961 – 23 June 1965 | |
Constituency | Labour Panel |
In office 14 August 1951 – 22 July 1954 | |
Constituency | Nominated by the Taoiseach |
Member of the European Parliament | |
In office January 1973 – June 1979 | |
Constituency | Oireachtas Delegation |
Personal details | |
Born | Thame, Oxfordshire, England | 22 August 1921
Died | 3 January 2007 Dublin, Ireland | (aged 85)
Political party | Fianna Fáil |
Spouse | Gráinne Yeats |
Parents | |
Education | St Columba's College, Dublin |
Alma mater | Trinity College Dublin |
Michael Butler Yeats (22 August 1921 – 3 January 2007) was an Irish barrister and Fianna Fáil politician.[1] He served two periods as a member of Seanad Éireann.
Life
His father was the poet W. B. Yeats, who likewise served in the Seanad, and his mother was Georgie Hyde-Lees. His sister Anne Yeats was a painter and designer, as was his uncle Jack Butler Yeats. Michael was educated at St Columba's College, Dublin and Trinity College Dublin, where he gained first class honours degree in history. He was an officer in the College Historical Society. He also qualified as a lawyer but did not practise.[2]
He unsuccessfully stood for election to Dáil Éireann at the 1948 general election and the 1951 general election for the Dublin South-East constituency.[3] Following the 1951 election, Yeats was nominated to the 7th Seanad by the Taoiseach Éamon de Valera. He stood at the subsequent election in 1954 for the 8th Seanad but was not elected.
From 1961 to 1980 he was a member of Seanad Éireann. In 1961 he was elected to the 10th Seanad by the Labour Panel. In 1965 he was nominated by the Taoiseach Seán Lemass to the 11th Seanad. In 1969 he was elected to the 12th Seanad by the Cultural and Educational Panel, and re-elected to the 13th Seanad in 1973. In 1977, he was nominated by the Taoiseach Jack Lynch to the 14th Seanad. He resigned from the Seanad on 12 March 1980.[4]
From 1969 to 1973, during the 12th Seanad, he served as Cathaoirleach (chair).
While a senator, Yeats served as a Member of the European Parliament from 1973 to 1979, being appointed to Ireland's first, second and third delegations. He stood at the first direct elections in 1979 for the Dublin constituency but was not elected.[3] He was Director General of the EEC Council of Ministers in Brussels in the 1980s.[2]
He was married to Gráinne Ní Éigeartaigh, a singer and Irish harpist. They had four children; three daughters and a son.[2]
See also
References
- ^ "Michael Yeats". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 8 November 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ a b c "Michael Yeats". Independent.co.uk. 10 January 2007. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
- ^ a b "Michael Yeats". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ "Official Report (Seanad Éireann) Volume 93, 12 March 1980: Resignation of Member". Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
Sources
- Cast a Cold Eye (autobiography), Dublin: Blackwater Press, ISBN 0-86121-968-6.
- 1921 births
- 2007 deaths
- Auditors of the College Historical Society
- Fianna Fáil senators
- Cathaoirligh of Seanad Éireann
- Members of the 7th Seanad
- Members of the 10th Seanad
- Members of the 11th Seanad
- Members of the 12th Seanad
- Members of the 13th Seanad
- Members of the 14th Seanad
- Butler Yeats family
- People educated at St Columba's College, Dublin
- Fianna Fáil MEPs
- MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 1977–1979
- MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 1973–1977
- MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 1973
- People from Thame
- Nominated members of Seanad Éireann
- Alumni of Trinity College Dublin
- Labour Panel senators
- Cultural and Educational Panel senators