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The Minister for Defence (Irish: Aire Cosanta) is the senior minister at the Department of Defence in the Government of Ireland. The current Minister for Defence is Willie O'Dea, TD; he is assisted by Minister of State Pat Carey, TD. The department is responsible for the Irish Defence Forces; its primary concern is that of ensuring a secure and stable environment for the economic growth and development of the country.

The Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924 assigned the minister the additional title of Commander-in-Chief as the Chairman of the Council of Defence. The Defence Act, 1954 removed this title as a result of the reconstitution of the Council of Defence.

[edit] Minister for Defence 1919–present

	Name	Entered Office	Left Office	Party
1.	Richard Mulcahy^[1] (1st time)	22 January 1919	1 April 1919	Sinn Féin
2.	Cathal Brugha^[2]	1 April 1919	9 January 1922	Sinn Féin
	Richard Mulcahy (2nd time)	10 January 1922	19 March 1924	Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin
3.	W. T. Cosgrave (acting)	20 March 1924	21 November 1924	Pro-Treaty Sinn Féin
4.	Peter Hughes	21 November 1924	23 June 1927	Cumann na nGaedhael
5.	Desmond FitzGerald	23 June 1927	9 March 1932	Cumann na nGaedhael
6.	Frank Aiken	9 March 1932	8 September 1939	Fianna Fáil
7.	Oscar Traynor (1st time)	8 September 1939	18 February 1948	Fianna Fáil
8.	Thomas F. O'Higgins	18 February 1948	7 March 1951	Fine Gael
9.	Seán Mac Eoin (1st time)	7 March 1951	13 June 1951	Fine Gael
	Oscar Traynor (2nd time)	13 June 1951	2 June 1954	Fianna Fáil
	Seán Mac Eoin (2nd time)	2 June 1954	20 March 1957	Fine Gael
10.	Kevin Boland	20 March 1957	11 October 1961	Fianna Fáil
11.	Gerald Bartley	11 October 1961	21 April 1965	Fianna Fáil
12.	Michael Hilliard	21 April 1965	2 July 1969	Fianna Fáil
13.	Jim Gibbons	2 July 1969	9 May 1970	Fianna Fáil
14.	Jerry Cronin	9 May 1970	14 March 1973	Fianna Fáil
15.	Paddy Donegan	14 March 1973	2 December 1976	Fine Gael
16.	Liam Cosgrave (acting)	2 December 1976	16 December 1976	Fine Gael
17.	Oliver J. Flanagan	16 December 1976	5 July 1977	Fine Gael
18.	Bobby Molloy	5 July 1977	11 December 1979	Fianna Fáil
19.	Pádraig Faulkner	12 December 1979	15 October 1980	Fianna Fáil
20.	Sylvester Barrett	15 October 1979	30 June 1981	Fianna Fáil
21.	James Tully	30 June 1981	9 March 1982	Labour Party
22.	Paddy Power	9 March 1982	14 December 1982	Fianna Fáil
23.	Patrick Cooney	14 December 1982	14 February 1986	Fine Gael
24.	Paddy O'Toole	14 February 1982	10 March 1987	Fine Gael
25.	Michael J. Noonan	10 March 1987	12 July 1989	Fianna Fáil
26.	Brian Lenihan	12 July 1989	31 October 1990	Fianna Fáil
27.	Charles Haughey (acting)	1 November 1990	5 February 1991	Fianna Fáil
28.	Brendan Daly	5 February 1991	14 November 1991	Fianna Fáil
29.	Vincent Brady	14 November 1991	11 February 1992	Fianna Fáil
30.	John Wilson	11 February 1992	12 January 1993	Fianna Fáil
31.	David Andrews^[3] (1st time)	12 January 1993	15 December 1994	Fianna Fáil
32.	Hugh Coveney^[3]	15 December 1994	23 May 1995	Fine Gael
33.	Seán Barrett^[3]	23 May 1995	26 June 1997	Fine Gael
	David Andrews (2nd time)	26 June 1997	8 October 1997	Fianna Fáil
34.	Michael Smith	8 October 1997	29 September 2004	Fianna Fáil
35.	Willie O'Dea	29 September 2004	Incumbent	Fianna Fáil

[edit] Footnotes

^ On the first occasion he served as defence minister, Mulcahy bore the title of Minister for National Defence.
^ Brugha bore the title of Secretary of State for Defence.
^ ^a ^b ^c As Minister for Defence and the Marine.

[edit] See also

Irish cabinets since 1919

[edit] External links

Department of Defence

[0] On the first occasion he served as defence minister, Mulcahy bore the title of Minister for National Defence.

[1] Brugha bore the title of Secretary of State for Defence.

[DefAndMar-2] As Minister for Defence and the Marine.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Contents

[edit] Minister for Defence 1919–present

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] See also

[edit] External links