Patrick John "Paddy" Hillery (Irish: Pádraig Seán Ó hIrighile; 2 May 1923 – 12 April 2008) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and the sixth President of Ireland from 1976 until 1990. First elected at the 1951 general election as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for Clare, he remained in Dáil Éireann until 1973. During this time he served as Minister for Education (1959–1965), Minister for Industry & Commerce (1965–1966), Minister for Labour (1966...
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Patrick John "Paddy" Hillery (Irish: Pádraig Seán Ó hIrighile; 2 May 1923 – 12 April 2008) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and the sixth President of Ireland from 1976 until 1990. First elected at the 1951 general election as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for Clare, he remained in Dáil Éireann until 1973. During this time he served as Minister for Education (1959–1965), Minister for Industry & Commerce (1965–1966), Minister for Labour (1966–1969) and Minister for Foreign Affairs (1969–1973). In 1973 he was appointed Ireland's first European Commissioner, serving until 1976 when he became President. He served two terms in the presidency, and, though widely seen as a somewhat lacklustre President, he won widespread admiration when it emerged that he had withstood political pressure from his own Fianna Fáil party in discharging his constitutional functions during a political crisis in 1982.
Patrick John Hillery, more popularly known as Paddy Hillery, was born in Spanish Point,...
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