Sean Calleary
Born: October 27th, 1931
Died: June 4th, 2018
Political dynasties dating from the foundation of the State gathered in the neo-Gothic St Muredach’s Cathedral, Ballina, Co Mayo, at the funeral of Sean Calleary (86), a versatile sportsman and thrice Fianna Fáil minister of state for public service; trade, commerce and tourism, and foreign affairs with responsibility for overseas development aid.
The old intimacy between Church and State that was the backdrop to his career was evident at the funeral. The Bishop of Killala, John Fleming, acclaimed Calleary “a Christian politician” who worked for the common good, while Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, also addressing a packed congregation from the altar, proclaimed him “a citizen of a free Republic, resolutely opposed to sectarianism”.
Born in Killala, a stone’s throw from a Round Tower, built against possible invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte after General Humbert’s defeat in 1798, Calleary grew up in an inwardly defensive Ireland recovering from Civil War and battling worldwide economic depression.
Just three months after Calleary’s birth Eamon de Valera’s fledgling Fianna Fáil came to power, winning over 56 per cent of the vote in north Mayo. Central to that success was Calleary’s father, Phelim, who, as director of elections, delivered the former IRA gunman, PJ Ruttledge, to the Dáil and a cabinet seat.
Sporting man
The young Calleary was educated at St Joseph’s College, Ballinasloe, Co Galway, and University College Galway, where he graduated in civil engineering.
He excelled in sport: in 1955, he won a Sigerson Cup medal in Gaelic football and a Collingwood Cup medal in soccer, while also playing rugby with Galwegians. With classical Mayo cuteness he overcame the GAA “ban on foreign games” by using the pseudonym “JJ Kelly” for rugby. Later, he became the only Mayoman to serve as an IRFU Mayo selector and president of the Mayo branch.
Meanwhile, in 1952 Phelim succeeded Ruttledge as Dáil deputy serving until 1969, by which time Calleary was involved in local politics and the Ballina Salmon Festival.
In 1973 Calleary was elected to the Dáil, serving 19 years until his retirement in 1992.
Micheál Martin recalled Calleary’s support for Monsignor Horan in building Ireland West Airport at Knock and the Ceide Fields. He was proud of his son Dara’s election to the Dáil in 2007 and re-election in 2011.
Foreign affairs
Of Calleary’s time in government, Martin focused on his time in foreign affairs, where he often deputised for the senior minister, Brian Lenihan. In 1990 he became the first Mayoman to present a US president (George Bush) with a bowl of shamrock on St Patrick’s Day in the Oval Office.
In Brussels he pushed for action to prevent an emerging famine in Ethiopia and his expertise as an engineer led to a series of Irish-funded water schemes in Tanzania. In 1989 he was Ireland’s lead negotiator for the Lomé Convention with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, he supported German unification and the accession to the EU of former Communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe. At his funeral, Calleary’s former secretary, Annie May Reape, described him as “a gentleman” and recalled that last month though ill, he insisted on voting in the recent repeal referendum.
He is survived by his widow, Doris, neé Brogan, children, Siofra, Dara, Conall and John, and grandchildren Laura, David and Anna.