Early Life
Colley was born in the Dublin suburb of Fairview, the son of Harry and Christina Colley. His father was a veteran of the 1916 Easter Rising and a former adjutant in the Irish Republican Army (IRA) who was elected to Dáil Éireann in 1944 as a Fianna Fáil candidate.
He was educated at St. Joseph's Christian Brothers School in Fairview where one of his classmates and closest friends was Charles Haughey, who later became his political arch rival. He studied law at University College Dublin and qualified as a solicitor in the mid-1940s. He remained friends with Haughey after leaving school and, ironically, encouraged him to become a member of Fianna Fáil in 1951. Haughey was elected to Dáil Éireann in the 1957 general election, ousting Colley's father in the process. This put some strain on the relationship between the two young men.
Read more about this topic: George Colley
Famous quotes related to early life:
“... business training in early life should not be regarded solely as insurance against destitution in the case of an emergency. For from business experience women can gain, too, knowledge of the world and of human beings, which should be of immeasurable value to their marriage careers. Self-discipline, co-operation, adaptability, efficiency, economic management,—if she learns these in her business life she is liable for many less heartbreaks and disappointments in her married life.”
—Hortense Odlum (1892–?)