Since the position of Minister of State (previously Parliamentary Secretary) was established in 1924, just twelve Kerry TDs have held junior ministerial positions. The Ministers and Secretaries Act of 1924 allowed for the appointment of up to seven Parliamentary Secretaries to assist cabinet ministers in their duties. The position was abolished in 1978 and replaced by the post of Minister of State.
Here are the twelve Kerry TDs who have served in these positions over the past century:
John Marcus O’Sullivan (Cumann na nGaedheal, Kerry)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education 1924-1926
Eamonn Kissane (Fianna Fáil, Kerry North)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Lands 1943
Parliamentary Secretary to the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence 1944-1948
Dan Spring (Labour, Kerry North)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment 1956-1957
Michael Begley (Fine Gael, Kerry South)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Local Government 1973-1975
Minister of State at Department of Finance and Department of Defence 1975-1977
Minister of State at Department of Tourism, Trade and Commerce 1981-1982
John O’Leary (Fianna Fáil, Kerry South)
Minister of State at Department of the Environment 1977-1979
Thomas McEllistrim (Fianna Fáil, Kerry North)
Minister of State at Department of Finance 1979-1981
Minister of State at Department of Fisheries and Forestry 1982
Michael Moynihan (Labour, Kerry South)
Minister of State at Department of Tourism, Trade and Commerce 1983-1987
Dick Spring (Labour, Kerry North)
Minister of State at Department of Justice (Law Reform) 1981-1982
John O’Donoghue (Fianna Fáil, Kerry South)
Minister of State at Department of Finance 1991-1992
Jimmy Deenihan (Fine Gael, Kerry North)
Minister of State at Department of Agriculture 1994-1997
Minister of State at Department of An Taoiseach, Foreign Affairs 2014-2016
Brendan Griffin (Fine Gael, Kerry)
Minister of State at Transport, Tourism and Sport, 2017-2020
Michael Healy-Rae (Independent, Kerry)
Minister of State at Department of Agriculture, 2025
To learn more about the Ministers of State from Kerry over the past century, click here:
A Century of Politics in the Kingdom: A County Kerry Compendium – Irish Academic Press
