Preceded by Gerry Reynolds | Succeeded by Jeremy Corbyn | |
Born 20 August 1933
County Clare, Ireland ( 1933-08-20 ) Political party Labour (Before 1981)
Social Democratic (1981–1983)
independent Labour (1983–1999) Died 29 November 1999, County Wexford, Republic of Ireland Books Thirteen Minutes Around the Clock, Turn Your New Product Idea Into a Business Political parties Labour Party (?–1981), Social Democratic Party (1981–1983) Similar Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Keir Hardie | ||
Michael Joseph O'Halloran (20 August 1933 – 29 November 1999) was an Irish-born British politician. He was brought up in County Clare, Ireland, and, finding no employment, he "drifted to London" in 1948, aged 15, and worked as a railwayman until he entered politics.
He was elected Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North in a by-election in 1969 following the death of sitting MP Gerry Reynolds. He had previously been the secretary of the Constituency Labour Party. His selection over Keith Kyle was the subject of an investigation in the early 1970s by The Sunday Times newspaper. They highlighted his background with a local building company and the local Irish community and questioned the propriety of the tactics of his supporters during his selection as candidate. Regarding Northern Ireland he was staunchly pro-Nationalist and anti-Partition. In his 14 years in parliament, O'Halloran only contributed twice to parliamentary debates.
O'Halloran was among the Labour MPs who defected to the new Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1981. However, in 1983, the SDP chose John Grant, the MP for Islington Central (which was being abolished in boundary changes), to be its candidate in Islington North. O'Halloran left the SDP to stand as an independent Labour candidate in the 1983 general election. The official Labour candidate Jeremy Corbyn won while O'Halloran came in fourth with 11% of the vote. Grant came third with 22% of the vote.
He retired to County Wexford with his wife, and lived there until his death at age 66.