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Willie Penrose
Willie Penrose
Chairman of the Labour Parliamentary Party
	In office; 29 February 2016 – 26 February 2020
Leader	Joan Burton; Brendan Howlin;
Preceded by	Jack Wall
Succeeded by	Vacant
Minister of State
2011	Environment, Community and Local Government
Teachta Dála
	In office; May 2007 – February 2020
Constituency	Longford–Westmeath
	In office; November 1992 – May 2007
Constituency	Westmeath
Personal details
Born	William Penrose; 1 August 1956 (age 68); Ballynacargy, County Westmeath, Ireland
Political party	Labour Party; (1969–2011; 2013–)
Other political; affiliations	Independent (2011–13)
Spouse	Anne Fitzsimons
Children	3
Education	Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar;
Alma mater	University College Dublin; King's Inns;

Willie Penrose (born 1 August 1956) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Chairman of the Labour Parliamentary Party from 2016 to 2020 and a Minister of State from March 2011 to November 2011. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1992 to 2020.^[1]^[2]

Education and professional career

Penrose was born in Ballynacargy, County Westmeath, in 1956. He was educated at Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar, Multyfarnham Agricultural College, University College Dublin (UCD), and the King's Inns.^[3] At UCD, he studied Agricultural Science, graduating in 1979 with a bachelor's degree; after graduation, with a colleague, he formed an agricultural consultancy firm in Mullingar. In 1986 he took up the position of advisor to the Minister of State at the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Tourism, Michael Moynihan, resigning from the agricultural consultancy to do so.

He qualified as a barrister in 1990, before entering into national politics. He has published a book on agricultural law.^[4]

Political career

Westmeath County Council

In 1984, Penrose was co-opted on to Westmeath County Council, and a year later, he ran in the local elections, winning his seat in the Mullingar Lough Owel local electoral area by a margin of just six votes. In the 1991 local elections, he topped the poll in the Mullingar Rural Area.^[5]

Dáil Éireann: 1992–2020

At the 1992 general election, in which the Labour Party won a record 33 seats (later surpassed in 2011), he was first elected to the Dáil as a Labour Party TD for the Westmeath constituency.^[6]

In 2002, Penrose was a candidate for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party. Although he was part of a joint ticket with Pat Rabbitte, who won the leadership comfortably, he was narrowly defeated for the deputy leadership by Liz McManus, polling 1,636 votes to McManus's 1,728.

Minister of State: 2011

On 9 March 2011, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government with special responsibility for Housing and Planning, attending meetings of the cabinet.^[7]^[8]^[9]

On 15 November 2011, he resigned as Minister of State due to his opposition to the government's decision to close Columb Barracks in Mullingar.^[10]^[11] Penrose said: "I understand and appreciate that significant efforts were made by my Labour colleagues in government, who fully understood the depths of my feelings in this regard, to resolve this matter, but to no avail."^[12]^[13] He also resigned the Labour parliamentary party whip.^[2]

2012–2020

In February 2012, The Phoenix magazine contrasted Penrose who "eats at the PLP tables in the Dáil restaurant and is often seen chatting to Gilmore on the corridors" with two other backbenchers who lost the party whip, Tommy Broughan and Patrick Nulty, both of whom had been "banished" from the Labour parliamentary offices.^[14] Penrose rejoined the parliamentary Labour Party in October 2013.^[15]

He was narrowly re-elected to the Dáil at the 2016 general election, one of just seven Labour TDs to secure election. On 5 July 2018, he announced that he would not contest the next general election.^[16] Alan Mangan was selected as his replacement for the 2020 general election, but Mangan was not elected.^[17]

References

^ "Willie Penrose". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
^ ^a ^b Cullen, Paul; Minihan, Mary (16 November 2011). "Minister's resignation increases fears over budget cuts". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 16 November 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
^ Cosgrove, Liam (12 July 2018). "Longford-Westmeath TD Willie Penrose hopes political history will be kind to him". www.longfordleader.ie. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
^ Penrose, Willie (2006). Agricultural Law in Ireland. Dublin: First Law. ISBN 9781904480495.
^ "Westmeath County Council (Mullingar Lough Owel) 1985 Local Election". Irish Elections. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
^ "Willie Penrose". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 20 May 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
^ "Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government – Dáil Éireann (32nd Dáil)". Oireachtas. 9 March 2011. Archived from the original on 12 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
^ Environment, Community and Local Government (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 311 of 2011). Signed on 14 June 2011. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 7 April 2021.
^ Oireachtas (Allowances) (Members and Holders of Parliamentary and Certain Ministerial Offices) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 347 of 2011). Signed on 28 June 2011. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 18 August 2021.
^ "Resignation of Minister of State" (PDF). Iris Oifigiúil. 2011 (92): 1595. 18 November 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
^ "Penrose quits on barracks issue". The Irish Times. 15 November 2011. Archived from the original on 18 November 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
^ "Penrose quits Cabinet over barracks closure". RTÉ News. 15 November 2011. Archived from the original on 15 November 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
^ "Labour's Penrose resigns from Government over barracks closure". Irish Independent. 15 November 2011. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
^ "Penrose by any other name" (PDF). The Phoenix. 10 February 2012.
^ "Penrose welcomed 'back into Labour fold' by Gilmore". TheJournal.ie. 7 October 2013. Archived from the original on 23 August 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
^ Mullooly, Ciaran (5 July 2018). "Penrose says he will not contest next general election". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
^ "Mangan 'up to the challenge' of retaining Labour seat". Westmeath Examiner. 6 July 2018. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.