T. J. Maher (original) (raw)

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Irish politician and farmers' leader (1922–2002)

T. J. Maher
Maher, c. 1979
Member of the European Parliament
In officeJune 1979 – June 1994
Constituency Munster
Personal details
Born (1922-04-29)29 April 1922Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland
Died 19 April 2002(2002-04-19) (aged 79)County Tipperary, Ireland
Political party Independent
Spouse Elizabeth Kennedy ​(m. 1958)​
Children 3

Thomas Joseph Maher (29 April 1922 – 19 April 2002) was an Irish politician and farmers' leader.

He was born on a small farm near Cashel, County Tipperary in 1922, the seventh child of Thomas Maher, a farmer, and his wife Julianne Maher.[1] He was educated locally and became a member of Macra na Feirme.[2] He was a founder member of National Farmers' Association (later the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA)) in 1955. In 1958, he married Elizabeth Kennedy from Bansha, near Cashel. They lived at Castlemoyle and had one daughter and two sons. He became the President of the IFA in 1967. In 1977 he became president of the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS).[3]

He was first elected to the European Parliament at the 1979 European election for the Munster constituency as an independent and was re-elected at the 1984 and 1989 elections.[4] In the European Parliament, he was a member of the Liberal Democrat and Reform group.

He stood unsuccessfully as an independent candidate at the 1981 general election in the Tipperary South constituency. He retired from politics at the 1994 European election. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Limerick in 1997.

  1. ^ Long, Patrick. "Maher, Thomas Joseph". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  2. ^ "T.J. Maher fought the good fight for farmers". The Kingdom. Archived from the original on 17 May 2005. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
  3. ^ "T J Maher". University of Limerick. Archived from the original on 18 March 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
  4. ^ "T J Maher". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2009.