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2020s in Irish history refers to significant events in Ireland in the 2020s.

Governent

Executive government

Micheál Martin (Irish: [ˈmʲiːçaːl̪ˠ]; born 1 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who is serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Minister for Defence since December 2022. He served as Taoiseach from 2020 to 2022 and has been Leader of Fianna Fáil since January 2011. He has been a TD for Cork South-Central since 1989. He served as Leader of the Opposition from 2011 to 2020 and held various Cabinet offices under Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen.

Born in Cork, Martin initially worked as a teacher before entering politics. He was elected to Cork City Council in 1985, and served as Lord Mayor of Cork from 1992 to 1993. In 1989, he was first elected to Dáil Éireann for Cork South-Central, a seat he has represented ever since. After the victory of Fianna Fáil at the 1997 election, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern appointed Martin to the Cabinet as Minister for Education and Science. In 2000, Martin was appointed Minister for Health and Children. In 2004, during his time as Health Minister, Martin was notable for introducing a ban on tobacco smoking in all Irish workplaces, making Ireland the first country in the world to introduce a full workplace smoking ban. In the same year, Martin established the Health Service Executive. He served as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment from 2004 to 2008, before being appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs by Ahern's successor, Brian Cowen. In 2009, Martin became the first Irish foreign minister to travel to Latin America, during which time he also made the first official visit to Cuba by any Irish minister. Martin also visited Khartoum during his time as Foreign Minister, following the kidnapping of Sharon Commins and Hilda Kawuki.

In January 2011, Martin resigned as Foreign Minister in protest at Cowen's leadership. Following Cowen's own resignation as Leader of Fianna Fáil, Martin was quickly elected to replace him. Just weeks later, at the 2011 general election, Martin led Fianna Fáil to the worst result in its 85-year history, with a loss of 57 seats and a popular vote of just 17.4%. He nevertheless remained in the leadership, becoming Leader of the Opposition. At the 2016 general election, Fianna Fáil's performance improved significantly, more than doubling their representation in the Dáil, with Martin continuing as Leader of the Opposition.

Martin led his party through the 2020 general election, which led to Fianna Fáil becoming the largest party in the Dáil by just one seat. After lengthy negotiations, he was appointed Taoiseach on 27 June 2020, leading a grand coalition with longtime rival party Fine Gael, marking the first time these two parties had governed together, along with the Green Party. Under the terms of the coalition agreement, Martin served as Taoiseach for the first half of the five-year term, with his predecessor Leo Varadkar as Tánaiste. Martin then resigned as Taoiseach on 17 December 2022 to facilitate the appointment of Varadkar to the office.

See also

• Irish government

Notes

1. Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil each had 37 TDs elected but as Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghail, a Fianna Fáil member, was automatically returned, this left Fianna Fáil as the largest party in the Dáil.

References

1. Martin spells his first name Micheál, that is without an acute accent, or síneadh fada over the i. See Martin's official website Micheál Martin TD Archived 7 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine. The Irish language version of the name Michael is usually spelt Mícheál.
2. "Micheál Martin". Oireachtas Members Database. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
3. Kelly, Fiach (29 June 2019). "Irish politics needs to wake up to the consequences of a no-deal Brexit". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
4. "General Election 2020 Live Results". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
5. "Ceann Comhairle – Seán Ó Fearghaíl". Oireachtas. 23 April 2021. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
6. Thomas, Cónal (27 June 2020). "Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has been elected Taoiseach". TheJournal.ie. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
7. Lehane, Micheál (17 December 2022). "Varadkar appointed Taoiseach under coalition deal". RTÉ News. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
8. Matthews, Jane (2024-12-02). "Hello Taoiseach Micheál Martin: The winners and losers of the 2024 General Election". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
9. "New Government won't be formed by Christmas, says Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin". Irish Independent. 2024-12-03. Retrieved 2024-12-03.

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