In 1994, Bertie Ahern became party leader and he appointed O'Rourke as deputy leader of Fianna Fáil, serving in the position until 2002. Following Ahern's election as Taoiseach in June 1997, O'Rourke became Minister for Public Enterprise, holding this position until she lost her Dáil seat at the 2002 general election. This followed a vote management strategy from Fianna Fáil head office which restricted her from campaigning in her traditional areas around Kilbeggan, in an attempt to win 2 of the 3 seats in Westmeath. The loss of her Dáil seat has also been attributed to her association with and the championing of, the privatisation of Telecom Éireann, which proved a financial disaster for many small investors, due to the share price falling radically, after privatisation. Following the loss of her Dáil seat, she was nominated to Seanad Éireann as a Senator by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern where she became Leader of the Seanad and leader of Fianna Fáil in the Seanad.
In January 2006, O'Rourke received the party nomination to stand at the 2007 general election. She narrowly defeated her nearest rival and Dáil election running mate, Kevin "Boxer" Moran of Athlone Town Council, causing a controversy when she thanked her election team for working "like blacks."[4] In May 2007, she was re-elected to the Dáil at the 2007 general election, with her highest ever vote.
In November 2008, during a march against the re-introduction of college fees, students from the Athlone Institute of Technology laid a funeral wreath at the door of O'Rourke's constituency office. The card on the wreath stated "Sincere sympathies on the death of free fees. We will remember this." O'Rourke described the act as "heinous". The wreath was placed there because O'Rourke was not speaking at a rally against the fees.[5]
In July 2010, O'Rourke conceded that she did not expect the party to be in power after the next general election. On RTÉ Radio's Today with Pat Kenny programme, O'Rourke said the government was making tough decisions to steer the country through the financial crisis and this would make it easy for the opposition. She said there was a general air of "crossness" within the Fianna Fáil party over their standing in the polls, but nobody was harbouring leadership ambitions to challenge Brian Cowen.[6]
O'Rourke in November 2010 said there was then more to unite her party and Fine Gael than to divide them. She pointed to the common approach of the two parties to Northern Ireland, Europe and the current financial crisis. In an address to the 1916–1921 Club in Dublin Castle, she said that most voters no longer defined themselves in terms of Civil War politics. Having pointed to the shared values of the two parties on several issues, she said the last issue she wanted to mention was the "dreaded b" word.[7]
Her senior years led her to often being referred to as the "Mammy of the Dáil".[8][9][10]
She contested the 2011 general election but was defeated.[8] O'Rourke criticised former TaoiseachBrian Cowen, saying that he should have resigned after his infamous "congested" radio interview.[11] She supported the attack on Cowen by her nephew, former Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, who said he was "disappointed" by Cowen's performance and he had to provide the leadership when the Taoiseach did not.[11]
In retirement, she received a lump sum of €237,000 and an annual pension of €97,000.[12]
Other activities
As well as being a well-known politician, O'Rourke made regular appearances in the media in a non-political capacity. She was a contestant on RTÉ's reality series Celebrity Bainisteoir, as well as other shows such as Sex & Sensibility.[13] She guest presented Tonight with Vincent Browne.
In 2012, Just Mary: My Memoir was published. It won the 2012 Irish Book Award in the "Listeners' Choice" category.[14][15]
Personal life and death
She married Enda O'Rourke in 1962, and they had two sons. One of them, Aengus O'Rourke, has been a member of Westmeath County Council since 2014.[9] The other, Feargal O'Rourke, became Managing Partner of PriceWaterHouseCoopers in Ireland in 2015[16] and is considered the "grand architect" of the double Irish tax system,[17][18] a major contributor to Ireland's economic success in attracting US multinationals to Ireland.[19]
Her husband Enda died in January 2001. O'Rourke died in Deansgrange, Dublin on 3 October 2024, at the age of 87.[3][20]
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