Alan Kelly

Alan Kelly TD
Minister of State for Public and Commuter Transport
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 March 2011
Preceded by	New office
Teachta Dála
Incumbent
Assumed office February 2011
Constituency	Tipperary North
Member of the European Parliament
In office 8 June 2009 – 9 March 2011
Constituency	South
Senator
In office 24 July 2007 – 8 June 2009
Constituency	Agricultural Panel
Personal details
Born	(1975-07-13) 13 July 1975 (age 36) County Tipperary, Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Political party	Labour Party
Other political affiliations	Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
Spouse(s)	Regina O'Connor
Children	2
Alma mater	University College Cork, University College Dublin
Occupation	eBusiness Manager
Website	www.alankelly.ie

Alan Kelly (born 13 July 1975) is an Irish Labour Party politician. He is a Teachta Dála (TD) for Tipperary North having been elected at the general election in February 2011 and is the Minister of State for Public and Commuter Transport.^[1] He is a former Senator and Member of the European Parliament (MEP).

Early and private life

Kelly is from Portroe just outside Nenagh, County Tipperary, and is the son of Tom and Nan Kelly. Educated at the local national school and Nenagh CBS, he subsequenly attended University College Cork (UCC) where he completed a BA in English and History in 1995. Two years later he completed an M.Phil in Political History. Kelly continued his education at Boston College where he achieved a Certificate in Leadership in 1999. He returned to Ireland shortly after this and completed an MBS in eCommerce in 2002. Kelly subsequently worked as an eBusiness Manager with Bord Fáilte and Fáilte Ireland.

Kelly is married to Regina O'Connor, a primary school teacher who was raised in Waterville, County Kerry. The couple have two children; a daughter and a son.

Political career

Kelly was highly politicised from an early age. In his final year of secondary school he canvassed for the Labour Party during the 1992 general election. He remained active in left-wing politics in university, firstly by establishing the Jim Kemmy Branch of the Labour Party in UCC and later by becoming involved in a number of by-election and local election campaigns in Cork and the wider Munster area.

Kelly became Chair of Labour Youth in 2000, having previously served as Co-Chair.

In 2007 Kelly launched his own political career when he secured election to Seanad Éireann for the Agricultural Panel. He was the only Labour Party candidate in that grouping.^[2] After the election of Eamon Gilmore as leader of the Labour Party in 2007, Kelly was appointed as Labour Party spokesperson on Tourism and was Seanad spokesperson on Finance and Local Government.

Kelly was elected as an MEP for the South constituency at the 2009 European Parliament election, taking the last seat in a tight battle between him, Sinn Féin's Toireasa Ferris and the Independent Kathy Sinnott^[3][4] Kelly was a member of the European Parliament's Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection.

Kelly promised that he would see out his five-year tenure in Europe, but allowed his name go forward as a Labour Party candidate at the 2011 general election. He ran in the Tipperary North constituency and was successful, receiving 9,559 first preference votes (19.8%) and securing the third and final seat at the expense of Fianna Fáil's sitting TD, Máire Hoctor.^[5] Phil Prendergast replaced him as MEP for the South constituency.

When the new coalition government was formed Kelly joined the junior ministerial ranks as Minister of State for Public and Commuter Transport.^[6]

References

External links

• Official website
• Alan Kelly's page on the Labour Party website

v t e « 2004–2009 «   Members of the European Parliament for Ireland (2009–2014)   » 2014–2019 » Dublin *Proinsias De Rossa (LAB / S&D) †Joe Higgins (SP / GUE/NGL) Gay Mitchell (FG / EPP) East Liam Aylward (FF / ALDE) Nessa Childers (LAB / S&D) Mairead McGuinness (FG / EPP) North-West Pat the Cope Gallagher (FF / ALDE) Marian Harkin (IND / ALDE) Jim Higgins (FG / EPP) South Brian Crowley (FF / ALDE) ‡Alan Kelly (LAB / S&D) Seán Kelly (FG / EPP) †Substituted by Paul Murphy on 1 April 2011 ‡Substituted by Phil Prendergast on 21 April 2011 *Substituted by Emer Costello in February 2012