Brief Biography:

Gerry Collins first entered politics in 1967 when he succeeded his father, James, as a Fianna Fáil (FF) TD for the constituency of Limerick West (1967-97). His first cabinet post came in 1970 as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (1970-73). In this role he became the first person to issue an order under section 31 of the Broadcasting Authority Act which allowed for the banning of broadcasts judged likely to "promote the cause of organisations committed to violence". When FF returned to power in 1977, Collins became Minister for Justice (1977-81) and as such had to deal with issues directly relating to the troubles in Northern Ireland, such as cross-border security and extradition. Between March and December 1982 as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Collins voiced concern over new proposals from the British government to devolve powers back to Northern Ireland politicians. In particular, he pointed that these lacked any sort of provision for a significant Anglo-Irish dimension or a firm commitment to see the establishment of a form of power-sharing.

In 1987 when FF returned to power, as Minister of Justice (1987-89) he attended on frequent occasions meetings of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference (AIIC) which had been established under the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement (AIA). At these gatherings Collins was to find himself involved in heated discussions over extradition and security matters which were to cause a great deal of friction between the two governments. In 1989 he was again made Minister of Foreign Affairs (1989-92) and as co-chairman of the AIIC he attempted to establish the framework to allow for the commencement of all-party talks on Northern Ireland. His ministerial career however came to an end in February 1992 when in the wake of renewed in-fighting within FF, he was dropped from the government after Albert Reynolds succeeded Charles Haughey as party leader and Taoiseach. By the time he had announced his decision not to stand for re-election to the Dáil at the 1997 general election, a new political career had begun for Collins. In 1994 he had been elected as a member of the European Parliament for the Munster constituency and in 1998 he went onto become Vice President of the European Parliament. At the election in 1999 Collins was returned for another five year term but in June 2004 lost his seat and announced his retirement from active politics.

Book References:

Collins, Stephen. (2000), The Power Game: Fianna Fáil since Lemass. Dublin: O'Brien.
Elliott, Sydney. and Flackes, W.D. (1999), Northern Ireland: A Political Directory 1968-1999. Belfast: Blackstaff Press.
McRedmond, Louis. (ed.) (1998), Modern Irish Lives: Dictionary of 20th-century Biography. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan.

Web Sources:

http://www.rte.ie/culture/millennia/people/collinsgerard.html

[Entry written by B.Lynn - 7 November 2002]