{{Short description|Irish politician (1945–2013)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}} {{Use Hiberno-English|date=October 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = Noel Davern, circa 1979.jpg | caption = Davern, {{circa}} 1979 | office = [[Minister of State (Ireland)|Minister of State]] | suboffice = [[Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine|Agriculture and Food]] | subterm = 1997–2002 | office1 = [[Minister for Education and Youth|Minister for Education]] | taoiseach1 = [[Charles Haughey]] | term_start1 = 14 November 1991 | term_end1 = 11 February 1992 | predecessor1 = [[Mary O'Rourke]] | successor1 = [[Séamus Brennan]] | office2 = [[Teachta Dála]] | term_start2 = [[1987 Irish general election|February 1987]] | term_end2 = [[2007 Irish general election|May 2007]] | term_start3 = [[1969 Irish general election|June 1969]] | term_end3 = [[1981 Irish general election|May 1981]] | constituency3 = [[Tipperary South (Dáil constituency)|Tipperary South]] | office4 = [[Member of the European Parliament]] | term_start4 = 24 June 1979 | term_end4 = 25 June 1984 | constituency4 = [[Munster (European Parliament constituency)|Munster]] | birth_name = Michael Christopher Noel Davern | birth_date = {{birth date|1945|12|24|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Cashel, County Tipperary]], Ireland | death_date = {{death date and age|2013|10|27|1945|12|24|df=y}} | death_place = [[Waterford]], Ireland | party = [[Fianna Fáil]] | spouse = {{marriage|Anne-Marie Davern|1975}} | children = 3 | relatives = {{ubl|[[Michael Davern]] (father)|[[Don Davern]] (brother)}} | alma_mater = |}} '''Noel Davern''' (24 December 1945 – 27 October 2013) was an Irish [[Fianna Fáil]] politician who served as [[Minister of State (Ireland)|Minister of State]] from 1997 to 2002 and [[Minister for Education and Youth|Minister for Education]] from 1991 to 1992. He served as a [[Teachta Dála]] (TD) for the [[Tipperary South (Dáil constituency)|Tipperary South]] constituency from 1969 to 1981 and 1987 to 2007. He served as a [[Member of the European Parliament]] (MEP) for the [[Munster (European Parliament constituency)|Munster]] constituency from 1979 to 1984.<ref name=oireachtas_db>{{cite web|url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Noel-Davern.D.1969-07-02/|title=Noel Davern|work=Oireachtas Members Database|access-date=24 January 2010|archive-date=8 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108190331/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/member/Noel-Davern.D.1969-07-02|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Career== Davern was born in [[Cashel, County Tipperary]], in 1945.<ref name=dib>{{cite web|url=https://www.dib.ie/biography/davern-noel-michael-a10030|title=Davern, Noel Michael|work=[[Dictionary of Irish Biography]]|last=Gallagher|first=Niav|access-date=18 February 2023}}</ref> He was educated at [[Congregation of Christian Brothers|CBS]] Cashel and at Franciscan College in [[County Meath]]. His family had a long political tradition. His father [[Michael Davern]] was a Fianna Fáil TD from 1948 to 1965, when he was succeeded in [[Dáil Éireann]] by Noel's brother [[Don Davern]]. After Don's sudden death in 1968, the seat remained vacant until Noel was elected to [[Dáil Éireann]] at the [[1969 Irish general election|1969 general election]].
At the [[1979 European Parliament election in Ireland|1979 European Parliament election]] he was elected as an [[Member of the European Parliament|MEP]] for the [[Munster (European Parliament constituency)|Munster]] constituency. He did not contest the [[1981 Irish general election|1981 general election]] so as to concentrate his time as an MEP. However, he lost his seat at the [[European Parliament]] at the [[1984 European Parliament election in Ireland|1984 European Parliament election]].<ref name=elecs_irl>{{cite web|url=http://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=3249|title=Noel Davern|work=ElectionsIreland.org|access-date=24 January 2010|archive-date=21 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221232248/http://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?id=3249|url-status=live}}</ref>
Davern was again elected to the Dáil at the [[1987 Irish general election|1987 general election]]. In 1991, he was appointed to [[Government of Ireland|cabinet]] as [[Minister for Education and Youth|Minister for Education]] in a reshuffle that followed a failed attempt of [[Albert Reynolds]] and [[Pádraig Flynn]] to oust [[Charles Haughey]] as [[taoiseach]]. Davern's term in office was short-lived; when Reynolds succeeded as taoiseach in early 1992, Davern returned to the backbenches. In 1995, he became Opposition Spokesman on European Affairs when [[Bertie Ahern]] named his new front bench. Fianna Fáil were returned to government and Davern was appointed as [[Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine|Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food]]. He served in that position until 2002.
Davern was one of only three members of the [[29th Dáil]] who had first been elected in the 1960s, the others being [[Séamus Pattison]], elected at the [[1961 Irish general election|1961 general election]] and [[Michael Smith (Irish politician)|Michael Smith]], also elected at the 1969 general election.
He died on 27 October 2013.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/former-fianna-fail-tds-noel-davern-and-denis-foley-have-died-29704115.html|title=Former Fianna Fáil TDs Noel Davern and Denis Foley have died|work=Irish Independent|date=27 October 2013|access-date=23 September 2021|archive-date=12 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712062050/https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/former-fianna-fail-tds-noel-davern-and-denis-foley-have-died-29704115.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
==See also== *[[Families in the Oireachtas]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{MEP|892|Noel Davern}}
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before = [[Mary O'Rourke]]}} {{s-ttl|title = [[Minister for Education and Youth|Minister for Education]] |years = 1991–1992}} {{s-aft|after = [[Séamus Brennan]]}} {{s-end}} {{Tipperary South (Dáil constituency)/TDs}} {{Members of the European Parliament for Ireland (1979–1984)}} {{21st Government of Ireland}} {{Ministers for Education of Ireland}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davern, Noel}} [[Category:1945 births]] [[Category:2013 deaths]] [[Category:Members of South Tipperary County Council]] [[Category:Fianna Fáil TDs]] [[Category:Members of the 19th Dáil]] [[Category:Members of the 20th Dáil]] [[Category:Members of the 21st Dáil]] [[Category:Members of the 25th Dáil]] [[Category:Members of the 26th Dáil]] [[Category:Members of the 27th Dáil]] [[Category:Members of the 28th Dáil]] [[Category:Members of the 29th Dáil]] [[Category:Politicians from County Tipperary]] [[Category:Fianna Fáil MEPs]] [[Category:MEPs for the Republic of Ireland 1979–1984]] [[Category:Ministers for education of Ireland]] [[Category:Ministers of state of the 28th Dáil]] [[Category:People from Cashel, County Tipperary]]