Dick Spring is pictured here playing for Ireland against France during his debut game in Dublin.
1979 v France (Dublin) D 9-9 (FN)
1979 v Wales (Cardiff) L 24-21 (FN)
1979 v England (Dublin) W 12-7 (FN)
|
Career Record: P3, W1, D1, L1
Test Points: 0
(R) = Replacement |
Dick Spring played Gaelic football and hurling for Kerry in the seventies.[2] He played his club football with the Kerins O'Rahilly's
club in Tralee and hurling with Crotta O'Neill's. His father Dan won 2 All-Ireland Senior Football Championships in 1939 and 1940.
He then won rugby union caps for Munster, and lined out for London Irish in England. He also was capped for Ireland three times,
debuting against France on January 20, 1979 at Landsdowne Road, and receiving his last international cap on February 17, 1979
against England at Landsdowne Road.
|
After his sporting career Dick Spring entered politics.
Early career.
Spring's
political life began in 1979 when he successfully contested the local
elections in Tralee. He replaced his father Dan Spring TD on Kerry
County Council that year. Spring Senior had been a TD for Kerry North
since 1943 and was briefly a member of National Labour.
He was first
elected to Dáil Éireann in the general election of 1981 for the
constituency of Kerry North, the seat previously held by his father Dan
Spring.[4] The Labour Party formed a coalition Government with Fine Gael
and Spring was appointed a junior minister on his first day as a
deputy. When Michael O'Leary resigned as Party leader after the February
1982 general election, Spring allowed his name go forward in the
leadership contest. He easily defeated Barry Desmond and Michael D.
Higgins but inherited the leadership of a deeply divided party. Spring
was a strong opponent of far left wing anti-coalition politics and
systematically removed trotskyist left-wing activists from the party.
Most notably he expelled the Militant Tendency (later Socialist Party),
including Joe Higgins and Clare Daly.
Ministerial appointment.
Following
the November 1982 general election Labour again formed a coalition
government with Fine Gael. Spring was appointed Tánaiste and Minister
for the Environment. He was closely involved in the negotiations which
led to the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985. In 1987 Spring and the Labour
Party withdrew from the government on budgetary issues and Fianna Fáil
took power in the subsequent election. Spring himself narrowly escaped
losing his seat when he was re-elected by just 4 votes.
He thereafter had a long career in politics, details of which can be found on Wikipeadia, from where this brief note has been copied.
|