Barry Andrews

Barry Andrews (born 16 May 1967) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was appointed Minister of State for Children on 7 May 2008. Andrews is a Teachta Dála (TD) for the constituency of Dún Laoghaire.

He was born in Dublin and was educated at Blackrock College and University College Dublin, where he received a Masters Degree in Modern History. He worked as a secondary school teacher from 1991 until 1997, when he entered King's Inns and qualified as a barrister. Andrews was first elected to public office in June 1999, when he was elected to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. He was elected to Dáil Éireann at the 2002 general election.

Andrews comes from a family with strong political connections. His grandfather, Todd Andrews fought in the War of Independence and became a founder-member of Fianna Fáil, while his grandmother, Mary Coyle, was a member of Cumann na mBan.

Andrews's father, David Andrews served as a TD from 1965 to 2002 and is a former Foreign Minister, while his uncle, Niall Andrews, was a former Fianna Fáil TD and MEP and his cousin Chris Andrews (son of Niall Andrews), is also a TD. His brother David is a popular street comedian.

In June 2006, Andrews led a group of Fianna Fáil backbenchers in an unsuccessful attempt to establish a backbench committee to influence Government Policy. In the 2007 general election, Andrews retained his seat in Dún Laoghaire with 8,587 votes.

See also

• Families in the Oireachtas

External links

• Barry Andrews official website
• Barry Andrews' page on the Fianna Fáil website
• Barry Andrews' electoral history (ElectionsIreland.org)

References

• This page incorporates information from this member's entry in the Oireachtas Members Database