Domestic Political Career
Hillery, though not himself political, agreed under pressure from Clare's senior Fianna Fáil TD, party leader and former Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, to become his running mate at the 1951 general election. The election resulted in a return to power for Fianna Fáil and Hillery was successful on his first attempt to get elected. He remained on the backbenches for almost a decade, before finally becoming a minister following de Valera's retirement as Taoiseach in 1959.
The new Taoiseach, Seán Lemass, began the process of retiring de Valera's ministers, many of whom had first become ministers in the de Valera cabinet of 1932. Under Lemass, party elders such as James Ryan, Seán MacEntee and Paddy Smith retired and a new generation of politicians were introduced to government such as Brian Lenihan, Donogh O'Malley, Charles Haughey and Neil Blaney. Key among this new breed of politician was Hillery who became Minister for Education in 1959, succeeding Jack Lynch in that post.
Read more about this topic: Patrick Hillery
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