View source for Gerry L'Estrange

{{Short description|Irish politician (1917–1996)}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=April 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image         = 
| office        = [[Minister of State (Ireland)|Minister of State]]
| suboffice     = [[Minister of State at the Department of Health|Health]]
| subterm       = 1981–1982
| suboffice1    = [[Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach|Government Chief Whip]]
| subterm1      = Jun.–Nov. 1981
| suboffice2    = [[Minister of State at the Department of Defence|Defence]]
| subterm2      = Jun.–Nov. 1981
| office3       = [[Teachta Dála]]
| term_start3   = [[1965 Irish general election|April 1965]]
| term_end3     = [[1987 Irish general election|February 1987]]
| constituency3 = [[Longford–Westmeath (Dáil constituency)|Longford–Westmeath]]
| office4       = [[Member of the European Parliament]]
| term_start4   = 1 January 1973
| term_end4     = 4 June 1979
| constituency4 = [[Oireachtas|Oireachtas Delegation]]
| office5       = [[Seanad Éireann|Senator]]
| term_start5   = 22 July 1954
| term_end5     = 7 April 1965
| constituency5 = [[Administrative Panel]]
| birth_name    = Mathew Gerrard Lestrange<ref>{{cite web|url=https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/details-civil/8c3ef61555828?b=https%3A%2F%2Fcivilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie%2Fchurchrecords%2Fcivil-perform-search.jsp%3Fnamefm%3DMatthew%26namel%3DLestrange%26location%3D%26yyfrom%3D1916%26yyto%3D1o918%26type%3DB%26submit%3DSearch|work=Irish Genealogy|title=Mathew Lestrange|access-date=23 October 2019|archive-date=22 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922211000/https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/captcha.jsp|url-status=live}}</ref>
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1917|11|7|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Street, County Westmeath|Street]], [[County Westmeath]], Ireland
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1996|4|5|1917|11|7|df=y}}
| death_place   = [[Multyfarnham]], County Westmeath, Ireland
| nationality   = [[Irish people|Irish]]
| party         = [[Fine Gael]]
| otherparty    = [[Clann na Talmhan]]
| spouse        = Aileen Kellaghan
| alma_mater    =  
|}}
'''Mathew Gerrard L'Estrange''' (7 November 1917 – 5 April 1996) was an Irish [[Fine Gael]] politician who served as [[Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach|Government Chief Whip]] and [[Minister of State at the Department of Defence]] from June 1981 to November 1981. He served as a [[Teachta Dála]] (TD) for the [[Longford–Westmeath (Dáil constituency)|Longford–Westmeath]] from 1965 to 1987, a [[Member of the European Parliament]] (MEP) for the [[Oireachtas]] from 1973 to 1979 and a [[Seanad Éireann|Senator]] for the [[Administrative Panel]] from 1954 to 1965.<ref name=oireachtas_db>{{cite web|url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Gerald-L'Estrange.S.1954-07-22/|title=Gerry L'Estrange|work=Oireachtas Members Database|date=19 December 1986|access-date=19 October 2012|archive-date=17 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190817141507/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Gerald-L'Estrange.S.1954-07-22/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Political career==
L'Estrange was elected to [[Westmeath County Council]] in 1942, and served on that body until 1981. He was [[cathaoirleach]] of the council for three years from 1959 to 1961 and served on virtually all the subsidiary and other bodies to which the council made appointments.<ref name=Death>{{cite web|url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/1996-04-16/22/|title=Death of Former Member: Expression of Sympathy|work=Dáil Éireann Debate|date=16 April 1996|access-date=9 September 2012|archive-date=23 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191023080502/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/1996-04-16/22/|url-status=live}}</ref> He was chairman of the General Council of County Councils (Ireland) on three occasions, now known as the Association of County and City Councils.<ref name=Death/>
 
L'Estrange was an unsuccessful [[Clann na Talmhan]] candidate for [[Dáil Éireann]] at the [[1944 Irish general election|1944 general election]]. He later joined [[Fine Gael]] and ran as their candidate at the [[1948 Irish general election|1948 general election]], but was again unsuccessful.<ref name=elecs_irl>{{cite web|url=http://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=2172|title=Gerry L'Estrange|work=ElectionsIreland.org|access-date=19 October 2012|archive-date=19 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919161235/http://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=2172|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1954, he secured election to the [[8th Seanad]] as a Senator for the [[Administrative Panel]]. He was re-elected in 1957 to [[9th Seanad]], and in 1961 to [[10th Seanad]].

After another unsuccessful candidacy at the [[1961 Irish general election|1961 general election]], L'Estrange was finally elected to the [[18th Dáil]] for the [[Longford–Westmeath (Dáil constituency)|Longford–Westmeath]] constituency at the [[1965 Irish general election|1965 election]], and was re-elected at each successive election until he retired from politics at the [[1987 Irish general election|1987 general election]].<ref name=elecs_irl/>

After the [[1981 Irish general election|1981 general election]], a [[Fine Gael]]–[[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]] coalition was returned to office in the [[22nd Dáil]] under [[Taoiseach]] [[Garret FitzGerald]]. L'Estrange was appointed [[Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach]], a position which included the role of [[Chief Whip]].

In 1973, L'Estrange was appointed a member of the [[List of members of the European Parliament for Ireland, 1973–1977|second delegation]] from the [[Oireachtas]] to the [[European Parliament]] and re-appointed to the [[List of members of the European Parliament for Ireland, 1977–1979|third delegation]] in 1977.

When his party was in Government and was being attacked by [[Fianna Fáil]] on the draining of the [[River Shannon]], he is reputed to have replied "If you can suck as well as you can blow, the Shannon will be drained by teatime".<ref name=Seanad>{{cite web |url=http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/S/0147/S.0147.199604240002.html |title=Seanad Éireann – Volume 147 |publisher=Houses of the Oireachtas |date=24 April 1996 |access-date=8 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050427001321/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/S/0147/S.0147.199604240002.html |archive-date=27 April 2005 }}</ref>

==Personal life==
Gerry L'Estrange was born in {{proper name|Correaly}}, [[Street, County Westmeath|Street]], [[County Westmeath]] the eldest of six children of farmer Patrick L'Estrange and Maud (''née'' Byrne).<ref name=Indexes>Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes 1845–1958</ref>

He was a noted athlete who competed on the national and local stage in long-distance running.<ref name=Death/> In 1955, he married farmer's daughter Aileen Kellaghan from Ballinriddera, [[Multyfarnham]], [[County Westmeath]].<ref name=Indexes/> They lived in [[Killintown]], Multyfarnham.<ref name=Tribute>{{cite web|url=http://www.westmeathexaminer.ie/news/roundup/articles/2010/09/01/3999653-tributes-paid-to-late-aileen-l8217estrange/|title=Tributes paid to late Aileen L'Estrange|publisher=Westmeath Examiner|date=1 September 2010|access-date=8 September 2012}}</ref>

Both L'Estrange and his wife were keen on greyhound racing, owning and training their own dogs.<ref name=Tribute/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.joe.ie/sports/greyhounds/the-voice-micheal-o-muircheartaigh-on-that-laurels-success-0017125-1 |title=The voice: Micheál O Muircheartaigh on that Laurels success |date=27 October 2011 |access-date=8 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120610014702/http://www.joe.ie/sports/greyhounds/the-voice-micheal-o-muircheartaigh-on-that-laurels-success-0017125-1 |archive-date=10 June 2012 }}</ref>

L'Estrange died on Good Friday, 1996 after a long illness.<ref name=Death/> The then Taoiseach, [[John Bruton]], spoke of a man who "could speak strongly and from a deep conviction and at the same time hold no personal malice towards any of the victims of his eloquence". [[Maurice Manning]] recalled a man never "in bad humour or without that smile which usually meant that a practical joke or a good story was on the way".<ref name=Death/><ref name=Seanad/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Seán Moore (Irish politician)|Seán Moore]]|rows = 2}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach|Government Chief Whip]]
       |years  = Jun.–Nov. 1981}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[Fergus O'Brien]]|rows = 3}}
{{s-ttl|title  = {{nowrap|[[Minister of State at the Department of Defence]]}}
       |years  =  Jun.–Nov. 1981}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Donal Creed]]}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[Minister of State at the Department of Health]]
       |years  = 1981–1982}}
{{s-end}}
{{Members of the 8th Seanad}}
{{Members of the 9th Seanad}}
{{Members of the 10th Seanad}}
{{Members of the European Parliament for Ireland (1973–1977)}}
{{Members of the European Parliament for Ireland (1977–1979)}}
{{Government Chief Whip (Ireland)}}
{{Longford-Westmeath (Dáil constituency)/TDs}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:L'Estrange, Gerry}}
[[Category:1917 births]]
[[Category:1996 deaths]]
[[Category:Fine Gael TDs]]
[[Category:Members of the 8th Seanad]]
[[Category:Members of the 9th Seanad]]
[[Category:Members of the 10th Seanad]]
[[Category:Members of the 18th Dáil]]
[[Category:Members of the 19th Dáil]]
[[Category:Members of the 20th Dáil]]
[[Category:Members of the 21st Dáil]]
[[Category:Members of the 22nd Dáil]]
[[Category:Members of the 23rd Dáil]]
[[Category:Members of the 24th Dáil]]
[[Category:Fine Gael MEPs]]
[[Category:MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 1977–1979]]
[[Category:MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 1973–1977]]
[[Category:20th-century Irish farmers]]
[[Category:Ministers of State of the 22nd Dáil]]
[[Category:Fine Gael senators]]
[[Category:Government Chief Whip (Ireland)]]
[[Category:Politicians from County Westmeath]]
[[Category:Administrative Panel senators]]
[[Category:Clann na Talmhan candidates in Dáil elections]]