Cathal Berry

Cathal Berry
Berry in 2022
Teachta Dála
In office February 2020 – November 2024
Constituency	Kildare South
Personal details
Born	Waterford, Ireland
Political party	Independent
Alma mater	NUI Galway RCSI NUI Maynooth
Website	cathalberry.com
Military service
Allegiance	Ireland
Branch/service	Army Infantry Corps
Years of service	1995–2019
Rank	Commandant
Unit	Army Ranger Wing
Commands	Head of Military Medical School Deputy Commander ARW

Cathal Berry is an Irish former independent politician and retired soldier who was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kildare South constituency from 2020 to 2024.^[1]

Military service

Originally from Ballyduff, County Waterford, Berry joined the army at the age of 18. Berry was a career Line Infantry officer and served for six years as the second-in-command of the Army Ranger Wing, Ireland's special operations unit, before qualifying as a medical doctor and becoming the head of the Military Medical School of the Irish Defence Forces. He deployed overseas five times, with NATO in Kosovo, the EU in Chad and the UN in the Middle East (Lebanon).^[2]

Berry came to public attention in 2019, unusual for a soldier, particularly with service in the ARW, when upon retiring after 23 years in the Defence Forces, he spoke to the media about poor pay and conditions within the military and the disillusionment of military personnel with the perceived dysfunctional relationship between the military authorities and the Department of Defence.^[3][4]

Berry called for the resignation of Paul Kehoe, Minister of State at the Department of Defence from 2011 to 2020, whom he described as an "empty suit" who has "presided over the demise of the Defence Forces".^[5]

Education

Berry holds a bachelor's degree in Science and Master of Law in Peace Support Operations and International Humanitarian Law from NUI Galway, a Bachelor of Medicine, Obstetrics and Surgery from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland as well as qualifications in French language, and leadership, management and defence studies from NUI Maynooth.

Political career

Berry was elected to Dáil Éireann as an independent TD for the Kildare South constituency at the 2020 general election.^[6][7] His campaign platform was "health, housing, the environment, education and Defence Force families".^[8]

He lost his seat at the 2024 general election.

References

1. "Cathal Berry". Oireachtas Members Database. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
2. "Dr. Cathal Berry Bio". Cathal Berry. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
3. Lally, Conor (28 May 2019). "Leaving the Army: 'No other uniformed service would put up with this abuse'". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
4. O'Riordan, Sean (28 May 2019). "Families are 'living in abject poverty': Former commandant calls on Defence Minister to resign". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
5. O'Connor, Niall (28 May 2019). "Elite former Irish Army Ranger hits out at Government for 'dismantling' Defence Forces". Irish Mirror. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
6. Forrest, Conor (10 February 2020) [9 February 2020]. "Kildare South results: Fianna Fáil's Fiona O'Loughlin loses seat; Sinn Féin's Patricia Ryan tops poll with Martin Heydon (FG) and Cathal Berry (Ind) taking remaining seats". The Irish Times. Dublin. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
7. "Election 2020: Kildare South". The Irish Times. Dublin. 10 February 2020. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
8. Beatty, Eoin (12 January 2020). "Former Soldier Cathal Berry To Run As Independent Candidate In Kildare South Constituency In Upcoming Election". KFM Radio. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.