Mark Clinton who died on December 23rd aged 86, will always be identified with the dramatic expansion in agriculture, which followed Ireland's entry to the EEC in 1973, and the dedication with which he pursued the maximum benefits for Irish farmers.
Thanks to the influx of European funding and the end to the dependence of Irish agriculture on low-priced British markets, Mark Clinton came to be described as "one of the best ministers for agriculture in this country's history." Normally a mild-mannered man, he could be a bellicose defender of Irish interests during marathon sessions of EEC farm ministers, but in spite of his triumphs in Brussels, he was to be disappointed at the lack of support from the farming community for the Fine Gael-Labour coalition in the 1977 election, which brought an end to his ministerial career. He was to find a new outlet, however, for his experience in farm politics during a decade as a Member of the European Parliament.
Mark Clinton was born on February 7th, 1915, in Moynalty near Kells, Co Meath, where his father was a farmer. He attended Kells Christian Brothers' School and later Warrenstown Agricultural College and University College Dublin, obtaining diplomas in agricultural and social science. After a stint in England where he worked with Harry Ferguson on the development of the famous Ferguson tractor, he returned to Ireland and was appointed farm manager of the Peamount estate at Newcastle, Co Dublin, where he built up a large dairy herd.
He also found time to play Gaelic football for Meath at senior level and played in the 1939 All-Ireland final against Kerry, but on the losing side.
In 1952, he married Dorothy Gleeson. They had five sons and two daughters.
In 1955 he began a long membership of Dublin County Council on the Fine Gael team; it continued until he was appointed a minister in 1973. He served two terms as chairman of the council and also at various times on the Agricultural Committee, the Vocational Education Committee, the Dublin Health Authority and the Eastern Health Board which he chaired between 1971 and 1973.
He was elected to the Dβil on his first attempt in 1961 when he stood in the then Dublin County constituency. His constituency was to become known later as Dublin North County and West County and he was re-elected in successive general elections until he stood down in 1981 to concentrate on the European Parliament. He was known as a loyal supporter of Liam Cosgrave and was proud to be part of the conservative wing of Fine Gael, a stance that led him to keep his distance from Dr Garret FitzGerald when he took over the leadership after the 1977 electoral defeat.
When he was appointed Minister for Agriculture in March 1973, soon after Ireland entered the EEC, he found himself immediately plunged into the annual round of farm-price fixing. It was a huge challenge for the first Irish minister to attend such tough negotiating sessions, which often went on through the night.
One Irish journalist reported that he took his place among his EEC colleagues bearing the marks of the recent general election campaign and wearing "a frayed collar, narrow tie, ill-fitting suit and shoes down at heel." In spite of his unprepossessing appearance, the new minister soon won the respect of his officials and other ministers for his careful preparation for meetings and detailed knowledge of complex dossiers. In spite of the financial gains he was able to bring back to farmers from Brussels, Mark Clinton was to experience turbulent times as a minister. The European beef market collapsed in 1974, the first oil crisis erupted driving up inflation and there were to be continuous battles with the farming organisations over taxation and with the Irish Veterinary Union over animal health issues such as TB and brucellosis testing.
He was to clash several times with the then EEC Commissioner for Agriculture, Pierre Lardinois, usually to the latter's discomfiture. Mark Clinton made headlines when he walked out of an EEC ministers' meeting in 1976 to show his anger with a Lardinois proposal, which was then withdrawn.
As the Fine Gael-Labour coalition sought re-election in June 1977, Mark Clinton was able to cite a record in office which included farm incomes rising from £276 million to £720 million, a three-fold increase in income per head and the introduction of widespread structural reforms to bring Irish agriculture more into line with European standards. He had also been responsible for negotiating for Ireland on fisheries matters but with less impressive results.
The farming associations led by the IFA were opposed to the coalition's proposals for the taxation of farmers and backed the Fianna Fβil manifesto which Mark Clinton was to denounce as "a package of bribery which cannot be delivered".
The lack of support by farmers for the coalition was a bitter disappointment for the man who had devoted so much effort over four years to improving their lot. Six years' later he was to recall in a newspaper article that several months after the electoral defeat, he refused to shake hands with the IFA leader, Paddy Lane. "Why should I be shaking hands with you? It's a terrible pity your memory is not able to go back longer than the last few months," he said to Lane. Another disappointment was the decision by the Fine Gael leader, Liam Cosgrave, to resign. Mark Clinton was mentioned at first as one of his possible successors but he did not enter the contest. The new leader, Dr Garret FitzGerald, offered him the post of deputy leader as well as a front bench position but he turned it down "on grounds of age" according to Dr FitzGerald's autobiography. There may have been more than age involved. Mark Clinton was only 62 and still in full health. He would not have been in accord with the new leader's liberalism in areas such as contraception and divorce and it was not clear what being "deputy" to such a high-powered leader would involve.
When Dr FitzGerald invited him along with two other MEPs, Richie Ryan and Tom O'Donnell, to join the front bench in 1981 in the run-up to the next election, he refused and told them they would be disappointed if they expected to be appointed to the next Cabinet. He was right. In spite of their front bench posts, they were omitted from the first FitzGerald Cabinet.
By then Mark Clinton was happy to concentrate on his European Parliament responsibilities. He had been elected in 1979 for the Leinster constituency where he topped the poll. For the next 10 years he used the parliament in Strasbourg to defend Irish farming interests as well as leading the Fine Gael group. He could be scathing about the efforts of his Fianna Fβil successors, once describing Ray McSharry as negotiating "like an innocent abroad". In 1982, he was to suffer a family tragedy when his son, Peter, died.
He is survived by his wife, Dorothy; sons Joe, Mark, Richard and David; daughters, Paula and Olivia, and sisters Sadie and Olive.
Mark Clinton: born 1915; died, December 2001